JTCore - Lessons

2/10/2015 JTCore - Lessons

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PreschoolLesson 1: Informal AssessmentCommunicationOne of the most important and enjoyable skills we learn in our lives is how to communicate with each other. Our ability tounderstand each other and to make ourselves understood is the basis for most human interaction. You are going to be learninghow to develop spoken language with your child who has a hearing loss.

Language is the formal, organized method by which we communicate. It may be written, spoken or signed. But no matter how weexpress ourselves, our language has a certain structure that makes us able to understand each other. For example, as you read thewords on this page, you understand the sentences because of the placement of the words. You understand written language.

Perhaps your child does not yet have a language system at all. Or your young child might understand and use single words. Hemight use combinations of words. He may be using a formal sign system, spoken language or the two in combination. If you havechosen to have your child learn to communicate using signs, it is important that you learn to sign too and that you and your childlearn a formal sign system.

Speech is one way of expressing language. If our speech is clear, our spoken language is more easily understood by others. Children who have a hearing loss are usually not able to hear most speech sounds without hearing aids or a cochlear implant. They will need your guidance to learn to listen to speech sounds. By talking to your child, playing games and interacting with him,you provide his initial knowledge of speech sounds.

Nonverbal CommunicationAlthough we communicate with each other verbally (with words), we also communicate nonverbally (without words). Nonverbalcommunication takes place in a variety of ways. We communicate without words when we cry, groan or laugh. We usecommunication when we fold our arms across our chest and look stern. We nod our head “yes” and move it from side to side toindicate “no.” We use facial expressions when we smile and frown. We wave, point, shrug our shoulders. Nonverbalcommunication is naturally used along with words—as a kind of “punctuation.” It makes our verbal language clearer or stronger.

Before the development of a formal language system, almost all infants and children respond to their parents’ nonverbalcommunication. A baby may not understand the words his parents say to him. But he understands the smile or frown on hismother’s face as she talks. He notices her gestures and body movements. He knows if they mean she is happy, sad or angry. Andhe responds accordingly with his own nonverbal communication.

Hearing children—and children who have a hearing loss and who have begun to talk—continue to use nonverbal communicationeven after they can use words. But, just as with adults, their nonverbal communications will be used in addition to language, notinstead of it. After the children have learned to understand and use words, nonverbal communication will no longer be theirprimary means of communication.

Spoken or Sign LanguageGestures, facial expressions, and tone of voice have limitations. A formal, spoken or sign language system will be needed for yourchild to develop and communicate fully. Your child will learn to understand language before he learns to use it spontaneously. Inother words, before he uses the word “ball,” a child will respond to the word if he understands it. If you say “ball,” he will look for

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it or go to get it even though he cannot yet say the word. Your child’s response indicates that “ball” is a part of his receptivelanguage.

Receptive language is the first stage in his language development. Your child’s beginning receptive language will probablyinclude the names of things—words such as BALL, DOG, CAR, CAT, MOMMY, DADDY—the language with which your child willidentify familiar people and things in his world.

In order for your little one to build receptive spoken language, he needs to be on the receiving end of as much spoken language aspossible. This is why your role as speaker is so important, and also why it is important to talk as much as possible to your child. This is true whether you and your child are using formal signs, spoken language or both systems together.

Expressive language is the language your child uses spontaneously to express himself—his wants, needs and ideas. A child’s firstexpressive language is often language that causes something to happen—words such as OPEN, UP, PULL and OFF. This languagedevelopment occurs in exactly the same manner for children who have a hearing loss as it does for hearing children.

Hearing children spend the first year of life listening to the sounds of language, vocalizing and babbling. If your child with ahearing loss has been wearing appropriate amplification for one year, he should be able to respond to speech sounds, vocalize andbabble, just as a one‑year‑old hearing child would. This is your child’s “hearing age”—his age since he first received amplification.For example, if he received hearing aids or his cochlear implant at one year of age, and he is now two‑and‑a‑half years old, hishearing age is one and one‑half years. Therefore, he should be functioning at the 13‑to‑18 month age range. But don’t think hislanguage development will always reflect this delay. With appropriate amplification and your time and effort in teaching him, yourlittle one can catch up. In fact, by the time he begins elementary school, you will probably find that he has made great progress.

The Importance of TalkingThere is only one way for your child to develop receptive and expressive spoken language and that is for you to talk, talk, TALK tohim. You will find countless opportunities every day for a conversation with him. When your child looks at you, talk to him aboutwhat he is doing. When he reaches for something, talk to him about what he wants. When he watches you, talk about what you aredoing. Make the most of each moment that you have your little one’s attention.

When you talk to your child, he will learn best if you use everyday language and short phrases or sentences. For example, if yourchild is playing with toy trucks and cars, you might say, “Push the truck. Vroom, vroom! Push the red truck.”

It is natural for children to imitate words that they hear in a context that is meaningful and interesting. Asking a child to repeatwords he does not understand or using flash cards with pictures in isolation will not help in real language development. It is likelythat the repetition is only copying sounds and no true learning is taking place. If, however, you point out cars that you see on thestreet, and say “car,” your little one will soon learn the meaning of this word.

Tips

Getting down to your child’s level when you talk to him is very important. Do a deep‑knee bend rather than bending at the waist. If your child isrelying on visual information for learning about spoken language, you want him to see you clearly. If he is learning basically through hearing, be at hislevel and close to him. This provides the best opportunity for him to hear and understand your voice.

Using a natural voice is equally important. Exaggerated speech or a very loud voice creates distortion, and your child will only hear bursts ofunintelligible sound.

Get your child’s attention auditorily at first, then visually, and then by touch to encourage your child to attend to the speaker.

AssessmentsIt’s time to take another look at your child’s speech, spoken language and listening skills. He may be using spoken language,



formal sign language or Cued Speech. He is becoming a “little communicator.” Naturally, you want to be sure that his skills aredeveloping well. Is his language appropriate? How clear is his speech? Are his listening skills developing? Information frominformal assessments at home and formal assessments by professionals will provide answers.

Informal assessments include observations and checklists that describe your child’s current level of functioning in many areas oflearning. You can informally assess his language development at home while you and your child are playing and having funtogether. During this time, you will gather information that will be useful for school and therapy.

Your child may also have an audiologist, early intervention teacher and/or therapist. Along with you, these professionals are youryoungster’s “team.” Remember, you are an important member of this team. You will provide information that only you know fromseeing your child at home. You know how he interacts with the family; plays with friends; shares jokes with Grandpa. Theinformation you have from these experiences and from your informal assessments will make you a strong part of your child’seducational and hearing‑care team. There is a lot you can do with the information you have.

One of the most important pieces of information is your child’s unaided and aided audiologic test results. These are among theformal assessments that will be done on your child. If your child has an implant, you probably have results of tests done after eachmapping. On the Audiogram of Familiar Sounds you can plot your child’s unaided and aided test results. You will have anindication of the sounds to which your child has access. You will probably refer to this page frequently as you progress throughthese lessons.

Remember, the informal assessments listed in this lesson are meant to be done at home while you and your child are playingtogether. You add them to the formal test results that you will receive from the audiologist, therapists and teachers. There is a lotof information to gather! Save records in a binder or an electronic file. You can organize them in many ways, such as by date,therapy or service. Include your own observations, too. Keep adding information and watch your child progress.

A) LISTENINGObserve your child's reactions to sounds at home.

Listening SkillsSince spoken language is best learned through the sense of hearing, during all his waking hours your child will need to wear hishearing aids or cochlear implant. In addition to wearing hearing aids or a cochlear implant consistently, it is important that theinternal settings of your child’s device are appropriate. If your child’s hearing aids are set correctly and his listening skills aredeveloping, he will probably turn when you call his name. If calling his name does not get his attention, stop all action, wait forhim to look at you and then speak. It is very natural and easy to reach out and tap your little one. If possible, though, try to get hisattention by using your voice instead. You want to encourage him to listen. Also, speak to your child when you want to saysomething, and not just to test him. We learn to listen and respond to our names when we are called for a reason. If youconstantly call just to test your child, he will stop responding because there is no significance to your voice.

Your child needs to learn about everything that makes sound. You can help him learn to listen by consistently drawing hisattention to sounds around you. Even if you suspect your child cannot hear a sound, call it to his attention. Clearly indicate thesource of the sound and talk to him about it. Tell him you hear it. This practice gives him information and builds hisunderstanding of his world.

Remember that awareness of certain sounds may be very difficult for your youngster. However, if you know that he can hear thesoft sound, you will want to continue to bring it to his attention. At first, the sounds he notices on his own might be very loud.With practice, he will not only notice a variety of sounds, but also recognize them and attach meaning to them.

There is a lot of information to gather! Now it’s time to make a notebook to fill with information about your child’s listening,language and speech accomplishments. It will fill up quickly, so you will want a big three‑ring binder. This is a perfect place tokeep information for easy reference. You’ll need a set of dividers for your notebook, too, so you can keep your records organized

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and easy to use. While we will offer a suggestion for organizing the notebook, the final decision is yours. It will be your tool, andso it must work for you for the benefit of your preschooler.

The first section in your notebook could be for audiologic evaluations. Collect all of them and put them in chronological order withthe latest test on top. Be sure to notice which tests were reliable and which were not. As you will find in these lessons, a goodaudiologic evaluation is the basis for good amplification, and therefore the basis for the development of listening and spokenlanguage skills.

Your Assessment of Your Child's Hearing: The Ling Six SoundsEach morning your child puts on his hearing aids or cochlear implant as part of his routine. As part of your daily routine, you cando the Ling Six‑Sound Test. You will find that this is a good time to play a little listening game together. After doing all the LingSounds, you might take a minute to sing a little song or say, “I love you” to each other as you and your child begin the day.

To do the Ling Six‑Sound Test, you will say each of the six sounds, and your child will indicate to you that he hears them. Naturally, you do not want yourchild to see you making the sounds, so you can cover your mouth or stand behind him. His response may consist of clapping his hands, putting a smallobject into a bucket, or imitating the sound. As you do this test, you will know what frequencies of speech your child is capable of hearing. And you willalso be aware of sounds he is not responding to because of a problem with his amplification or a change in his hearing. It doesn’t matter what your childdoes, or even that he imitates the sound. All he has to do is indicate that he heard you. And it is most important that this is a fun game that you and yourlittle one play together each morning.

The sounds you will say are:Ahh (as in father)Ooo (as in moon)Eeee (as in key) Shhh (as in shoe)Ssss (as in sock)Mmmm (as in mommy)

If you’ve never done this before, here’s what you can do. Tomorrow morning, place yourself directly at eye level and in front of your youngster. Have sixobjects and a container into which he will throw them. Tell him, “When you hear the sound, put the block into the bucket.” Then show him. Hold his handwith the block, saying “Ahhh” loudly, and help him throw it into the container. Tell him, “Good listening,” “You did it,” or “Good job.” Try it again co‑actingwith him until you are sure he can do it. If you need some extra help, an older sibling or another adult can serve as a “model” and do the activity while yourchild watches. When he can respond easily on his own, step behind him so you are sure he cannot see you making the sounds. After you’ve finished doingall the Ling Six Sounds, praise your child. Tell your little one what a great job he did listening to you, for any response shows a good effort on his part.

As your preschooler becomes comfortable responding to the Ling sounds, you can increase the distance so that you know how far away you can be for him tohear you. Also try saying them in a whisper.

The second section of your notebook might be “informal assessments” of your child’s daily responses to the Ling Six Sounds. Your child should respond tothe same sounds each day. If he stops responding as he has in the past, you need to determine why. Are his hearing aids or cochlear implant working well? Does he have a cold or is he congested? If you don’t know why he is not responding, it’s time for a hearing test and a hearing aid or cochlear implant checkas soon as possible. A critical factor in spoken language development is consistent hearing levels.

Hearing TestsNormal hearing tests have become a part of your life now. Since spoken language is learned through the sense of hearing, learningto listen to language is critical. If your child wears hearing aids, he has been tested both with and without amplification every sixmonths. You should have received copies of his audiograms for your own records.

One of the most important pieces of information is your child’s unaided and aided audiologic test results. These are among theformal assessments that will be done on your child. If your child has an implant, you probably have results of tests done after eachmapping. Here you will find a Audiogram of Familiar Sounds. Using your child’s test results, plot them on this page. You will havean indication of the sounds to which your child has access. You will probably refer to this page frequently as you progress throughthese lessons.

Now take a look at the chart below and notice where each of the Ling Six Sounds are located. As you can see, they represent asampling of speech sounds across the frequency range from low to high‑pitched sounds.

http://www.jtc.org/parents/ideas-advice-blog-comments/the-ling-six-sound-test

http://www.jtc.org/parents/ideas-advice-blog-comments/audiogram-of-familiar-sounds

http://www.jtc.org/uploads/docs/Audiogram-of-Familiar-Sounds.pdf



Now look at your child’s aided hearing levels. Are those levels close to the level of the Ling Sounds? In other words, if your littleone’s aided response is 40 dB at 500 Hz, he should be responding to /u/ when you say the Ling Sounds. If his audiogram showsaided hearing levels of 50 dB at 4000 Hz, he probably isn’t responding to /s/ when you do the Ling Sounds. This is very importantinformation for you to have in helping him learn spoken language. If your youngster’s aided audiogram indicates that he candetect these sounds and he does not respond when you present them, your child may need more listening practice.

Now glance back over all the tests and compare the results. You want to be sure that there are no changes in hearing levels, andthat the hearing aids are always providing appropriate benefit. Take a minute now to make that comparison.

You might want to draw a big audiogram and plot your child’s hearing levels from the last three tests with and without hearingaids. Use different colors of ink or markers. Are there any changes? If there are, it will be important to make an appointment to goover the tests with your audiologist. You and your child’s audiologist will have an important working relationship over the yearsand it’s essential to become comfortable in talking together now.

You have plotted your child’s hearing levels on the Frequency Spectrum of Familiar Sounds and considered them when you did theLing Six‑Sound Test. Now you will think about them again as you consider all the speech sounds on this chart. Are your child’shearing levels between 40 and 45 dB in the low frequencies so he can hear the /u/ or /m/ sounds? What about the /ch/ in themiddle frequencies or /s/ in the high tones? If your child’s hearing tests indicate that he can hear those sounds, is he able torecognize them during natural interactions with you? Is he trying to produce them in his own speech? Keep in mind that yourchild’s beginning attempts may not be perfect.

If your child has a cochlear implant, he should also be checked every three to six months. Usually the audiologist will test him in asoundproof booth. It’s a good idea to keep copies of those tests along with each new map or program change in your notebook soyou can compare results each time he is tested. You might find that a map or program done two or three sessions ago providedbetter results than the current one. Having that information on hand will be very helpful as you talk to your child’s audiologist.

And don’t forget: you are the most important member of your child’s team! Talk to your audiologist about any differences youobserve in your child’s responses to sound or about changes in his speech production. Ask questions and share your thoughts. Themore you are involved, the more your little one will benefit!

B) LANGUAGEIdentify the words your child understands and uses.

What language does your child understand?Just like hearing children, your child will begin to understand language before using it spontaneously. Your preschooler may beable to understand some words and phrases now. Perhaps he knows the names of family members. Maybe he knows what youmean when you say, “Time for bed” or “Bye‑bye.” He may even understand some simple, often‑used sentences. This is an excitingtime, for the language that he understands is the language that he will soon begin to use spontaneously. So, this is the time tobegin a list of your child’s “Receptive Language”—the language he understands without additional hints such as pointing, usinggestures or any other clues.

Let’s look at an example. Perhaps you tell your child, “Go get your shoes” as you point to his shoes in the hall. Maybe he willfollow your direction. However, you don’t know if he understands your words or if he is responding to your gesture. If youeliminate any gesture and he responds appropriately, “shoe” is a word you can put on his list of “Receptive Language.” If hedoesn’t respond by getting his shoes, you know he does not yet have an understanding of the word.

Here is another example. You are fixing dinner and you hear the car drive into the garage. Looking up from your work andmaking no gestures, you say to your child, “Daddy’s home.” Does your child run to the door to greet Daddy? If he does, you knowthat he has the receptive language to understand and to act on what you have said. “Daddy” can be added to his “ReceptiveLanguage” list.



No matter how much or how little receptive language your child has, this is the time to begin a record of it. Remember, you aregoing to be meeting with teachers, audiologists and speech therapists as you plan these preschool years. They will have resultsfrom formal evaluations, but only you will have this information.

Assessing Receptive Language: Evidence GainingIn terms of language acquisition, “evidence” is a reliable demonstration of the understanding of language alone. Evidence of yourchild’s receptive language is gained when he responds to the word or phrase you have said with no visual cues. Here is anexample. You are putting dishes away in the kitchen and you say to your child, “We’re going to the store. Go get your shoes.” Youare giving no cues along with your words to help him understand. If he gets his shoes, you have “evidence” that he understoodyou. Evidence gaining is an ongoing process and it is not done during any special time. Every day, as you speak to your child, you aregathering evidence of what he understands. At first, it might just be his name or short phrases such as, “Bye‑bye.” Gradually,however, the phrases will become longer until he might be able to respond to a sentence such as, “Take the paper to Grandpa” or“Where is your yellow truck?”

Sometimes you might wonder if he really understood your words or possibly just happened to do what you asked. That’s when youwill want to look for another occasion to say the same word, phrase or sentence. If he responds again, you have evidence. Youmight want to write it in your notebook immediately. You don’t want to forget any of these responses. It’s a good idea to dateyour entry, too. All of this information guides your work with your youngster.

As you are busy gaining evidence, be sure that your child is not feeling “tested.” Also be sure that there is a logical follow‑up towhat you ask of him. In other words, don’t say, “We’re going to the store” if you are not really going. Don’t say, “Bye‑bye” just totest him. As we all know, when a child feels that he is being tested or feels that you do not mean what you are saying, he will soonbegin to ignore you.

Evidence Gaining for Total CommunicationIf your child uses Total Communication, it is also very important to gain evidence of his understanding. This will be done in exactlythe same manner as for a child who is using spoken language alone, except both sign and speech will be used together. Again, itis important that no cues are used except for the sign and the word or sentence. If you are using Total Communication, you arelooking for a response to your language—formal signs or speech or in combination. You may want to keep a record of the wordsand phrases that your child knows in signs, and words and phrases your child knows through spoken language alone.

It’s time to bring out your notebook. A new tab could be “Receptive Language: Evidence Gaining.” As you review your observationsfrom time to time, you will have direction for teaching new language to your preschooler.

Expressive Language: What does your child say?Your little one has heard you say, “Bye‑bye” many, many times. Gradually he began to understand the meaning behind your wordsand you happily recorded this in your section on evidence. Now your child spontaneously says, “Buh buh” while waving good‑bye. He is using expressive language.

His speech may not be clear, but when he uses those words consistently to express his thoughts, feelings or intents, they arelanguage. Remember that all children, with or without a hearing loss, do not usually pronounce their first words clearly.

Your child’s language will consist of one‑word utterances at first (for example, “shoe”). After he can spontaneously say 50–100words, he may attempt to produce some little sentences such as “shoe off.” When your child has acquired more new words, you will



begin to hear three‑word sentences like “Daddy shoe off.” Keep in mind that everyone may not understand these little sentences. Remember, most hearing children are not understood by unfamiliar listeners when they first begin to talk. Every expression of newlanguage is cause for celebration as you watch your child grow in his ability to communicate with you. And, naturally, you want torecord as many of these expressions as possible.

C) SPEECH“Ju” might mean juice. “My ba” might mean my ball. Your child has language that you have carefully recorded. Now it’s time tolisten to his speech. Are you able to understand him? Can others understand?

Language is what we express by the use of spoken words, signs or even writing. Speech is how we pronounce our spokenlanguage. We are not born knowing a language system, nor are we born able to make all speech sounds in our family’s homelanguage. English has over 40 distinct speech sounds. Remember that hearing children need to learn to produce the sounds oflanguage over many years. Your child’s language skills will develop in exactly the same way but perhaps with some delay. Requestour paper “Stages of Speech and Language Development” for more information.

Speech is made up of a wide variety of sounds that we combine in endless ways to use with meaning. Every language has acombination of vowels and consonants. In addition, three ways in which speech sounds differ from each other are: duration,intensity and pitch.

Informal Speech AssessmentsEarlier in this lesson, you were asked to plot your child’s aided responses on the Frequency Spectrum of Familiar Sounds. If he isnot detecting speech sounds, it is important that you contact your audiologist or hearing professional to determine whatadjustments can be made to improve hearing levels. If those adjustments to hearing aids still will not bring your child into thespeech range, you might want to investigate other options.Now, go back to the list of your child’s vocabulary (expressive language). What speech sounds can he make? Do they reflect hishearing level? Does he use a loud and a soft voice? Can he vary his pitch? In other words, can he use a sing‑song voice? Also,can he vary the duration of speech sounds, such as “ooooohhh” and “pop, pop, pop”? Listen closely, for this will be very importantinformation to share with your child’s therapist and teachers. Here are some easy things for you to listen for:

DurationDuration is the length of time a sound is used in speech. In general, vowel sounds are used for a longer amount of time. They arealso lower in frequency (Hz) and louder (dB). Because vowels are “lower and louder,” they are the easiest for a child who has ahearing loss both to hear and to produce. Consonant sounds are generally higher in frequency, softer in intensity and shorter induration. As a result, the less residual hearing a child has, the harder it is to distinguish between the consonants.

IntensityIntensity, or loudness, is the second way in which speech sounds differ from each other. Say the vowel sound /o/ as loudly as youcan. Then say the consonant sound /th/. Didn’t you find that you were able to say /o/ much louder? Now, look again at theFrequency Spectrum of Familiar Sounds. As you can see, the vowel sounds are louder (between 40 and 50 dB) and some of theconsonants are much softer.

PitchWe usually say that a sound is high or low pitched. For example, a bird’s chirping is a high‑pitched sound. Thunder is a low‑pitched sound. Speech sounds are also high and low pitched. Many vowel sounds like /oh/ and /u/ are low pitched. You will seethem on the Frequency Spectrum of Familiar Sounds in the area of 500 Hz. Many of the consonant sounds are high pitched, suchas /s/ or /th/. If you look on the Frequency Spectrum of Familiar Sounds, you will find them between 4000 and 8000 Hz.

Duration, Intensity and Pitch also help convey information as we communicate with one another through spoken language. A rising



pitch or intonation can help convey the idea that someone is asking a question. A soft, low voice tells people that you are sharingsomething sad or serious. A quick, high voice can let someone know that you are excited or anxious.

Perhaps you are thinking of your little one’s aided audiogram while you read this. Is he able to produce those loud, low‑frequency,vowel sounds? What about some of the mid‑frequency and high‑frequency speech sounds? Knowing what your child can hear isvery helpful in understanding what sounds he will most easily produce. It will be easier and faster for your child to acquire speechskills if he is learning to listen with his hearing aids or cochlear implant.

Speech Therapy: Formal and InformalNot all children with a hearing loss need to receive formal speech/language therapy. The need for participation in formal, one‑on‑one sessions with a therapist will depend upon your child’s needs as he develops his spoken language system. You may feel thatyour child ought to begin formal work with a speech/language therapist as young as possible. Until your child is ready, formalspeech/language therapy may not be very beneficial. At a younger age, children learn exclusively through informal means.

Your child will learn by listening to you, his parents, as you talk casually and abundantly to him in everyday conversation. And,listening should be fun. A therapist can be very helpful to you and your very young child in modeling some listening and languagelearning games for you to use with your child at home during natural interactions.

When your little one is ready, you may want to look for a qualified therapist. This means a person who has been trained to workwith young children who have a hearing loss.Your therapist may want to do some formal assessments or tests to determine your child’s spoken or sign language level andwhich speech sounds your child produces. When you have a copy of your child’s assessment results, please send them along asyou report on your Correspondence Course lessons.

The purpose of assessments is to determine your child’s ongoing speech and language development over time. You are with yourchild more than anyone else and therefore you provide the language that he will learn. Even if a therapist or teacher is seeing himeach week, you have the main responsibility for your child’s communication skills. Be consistent, then, in your informalassessments of your preschooler by doing the Ling Six‑Sound Test and Evidence Gaining on a regular basis.And now, make another section in your notebook. If you don’t have any of these reports yet, you will be receiving them. Formalassessment results are important, too. Now you will have them all in one place.

VIDEO CLIP & IDEAS FOR EXTRA LEARNINGView brief video clip celebrating the progress of JTC preschooler enjoying listening fun with a parent.



Abilities of children differ greatly, especially at different ages. These lessons are written for parents of young children who have ahearing loss. The games must work for a wide range of physical skills and language development stages. Your child is anindividual. You need to work at the stage where your child is right now.

View a video clip from an individual speech language session involving Ling Six discrimination

The games and activities that follow the lessons can be included in your daily activities. These activities are opportunities forbuilding your child’s language. These games are for you, the parent. THEY ARE NOT “TESTS” FOR YOUR CHILD. Your child cannotfail; YOU cannot fail. The purpose of the games is to suggest ways for you to involve your child in communicating with you, and togive you examples of how to talk to your child.

Talking to your child sets the foundation for his language learning. Once you learned your child had a hearing loss, you may have stopped talking—orchanged the way you talked—to your child. However, it is even more important for you to talk to your child—to talk to him naturally and surround him withlanguage. You may not get any response at first. Don’t become discouraged! Every time you talk to your child, you are giving him language he needs. Remember, it takes many repetitions of words for your child to understand and learn language.

Each Game Has a PurposeEvery activity in the lesson has a definite purpose. For children just beginning to develop language, the purpose of the games is mainly to encourage yourchild to listen and understand some of the words that you say. This is the focus especially in the early lessons.

Your Child’s Attention SpanYour child, like most young children, may not be able to sit for more than a few minutes at a time, depending on how interested he is in what he is doing. Make the game period short and fun, keep it lively and end it before he loses interest. Try not to become too discouraged if you get little or no cooperationin the beginning. You cannot expect much at first.

You will find you can lengthen the activities little by little as your youngster’s interest and attention span grow. His interest will determine how long you canspend on the games. Eventually he will come to look forward to this special time with you, and he will discover that learning can be fun.

Different Stages of Learning



The games have variations for children at the beginning stages of language development as well as different levels of physicalreadiness. Begin with the basic game. As your child learns the language of the game and learns what is expected of him, you cantry some of the “Variations.” When he is ready, introduce the suggestions under “Advanced Language and Skills.”

How to BeginYou may find that your child likes some of the games and activities and does not respond much to others. Don’t becomediscouraged if your child tires easily or shows little interest in particular activities. Rotate the games and activities to give morevariety. You can return again and again to those games and activities your child likes.Your child may not be accustomed to giving you his attention. It takes time and repetition for him to learn that you expect him tolisten. Begin by trying a game or activity just one or two times. Try the game again another time, and you may get more responseas your child begins to understand what you want him to do.

Read through the outlines of the games and activities in this lesson. Choose one that seems easiest to fit into your daily schedule. Decide what materials you will use. Think about when and where you and your child will play the game. You need to plan aheadso you can naturally include these games and activities during the day. Planning and preparing ahead of time will make the activitymore enjoyable for you and your child.Depending on your child’s age and stage of development, introduce one or more new games each week.

LISTENING: Environmental SoundsPurpose of the Game:To expose your child to sounds which occur everyday

What You Need:Vacuum cleaner, blender or another noisy appliance

When to Play:Anytime you are with your child and you are going to use the appliance

What to Do:

1. Show your child the appliance you will be using and say, “Time to vacuum. Let’s turn on the vacuum.” Have your child near youas you turn on the vacuum cleaner (or other appliance). As soon as you turn it on, your child will probably look at you and you cansay something about the sound. Point to your ear and say, “I hear that!”

2. Talk about the sound of the vacuum cleaner and what he hears. You can say things such as:

“It’s loud!”

“Do you hear it?”

“I hear it!”

3. Turn off the vacuum cleaner and talk about the lack of sound, using the language that naturally comes to mind. You might say: “I don’t hear anything.”

“What happened?”

“It’s off.”

4. Turn the vacuum cleaner back on and again point out the sound. Repeat this activity a few times, as long as your child is interested. You might let him“help” you vacuum for a minute. Keep encouraging him to listen to the sound.

Variations:You can do this activity with a variety of household items. Any appliance that makes sound—a hair dryer, washer, dryer or radio—can be used. In fact, anyobject in your child’s environment that makes noise can be used to help your child become more aware of environmental sounds.

As your child’s listening skills develop, wait for his reaction to a sound before showing him the object.

LANGUAGE: Getting Dressed



Purpose: To begin to learn the language associated with dressing

What You Need: Your child’s clothing

When to Play:Anytime your child is getting dressed (or undressed) in the morning, after bath, before bed or when getting ready to go outside. Even when you must hurry, your natural conversation is very important.

What to Do:1. Get your child’s clothing and hearing aids or cochlear implant together in one place. Take a minute to think about what youwould normally say to your child while getting him dressed.

2. Put on your child’s hearing aid or cochlear implant so he will have the benefit of amplification throughout the dressingprocess. Use natural language like:

“Put your hearing aids on.”

“Let’s get dressed.”

3. Now put your child’s shirt on him. Remember to talk about it before putting it on, while you are putting it on, and after it is on. You can say things like: “Here’s your white shirt.”

“Let’s button your shirt.”

4. After you have finished putting your child’s shirt on him, pause and say something about it again. You might say: “You put on your shirt.”

“What a pretty shirt.”

5. Select another article of clothing and have a conversation as you did with your child’s shirt: before putting it on, while you are putting it on and after itis on. This will take practice and repetition for both you and your child.

“Here are your red shorts.”

“Let’s put on your socks. The socks are white. One, two! On they go.”

“You need a sweater. Here’s a blue sweater. Put your arm in.”

6. When time allows, encourage your child to help dress himself as much as he can. Talk to him as he does so and praise him for his efforts.

Variations:1. Make a “Book of Clothing.” Cut out pictures of clothing and paste them in a book. Look at it with your child. Use the names of the pieces of clothing. Talk about the color. Is it big or small? Do you wear it in the snow? Rain? At the beach?

2. Point to and talk about articles of clothing while reading a book or playing with a puzzle.

3. Dress a doll or a stuffed toy with your child. Talk about each piece of clothing you put on the doll or toy.

If Your Child Is Ready: Advanced Language and Skills1. Have two appropriate articles of clothing: two shirts or two pairs of socks. Allow your child to choose which one he wants. Here is a sampleconversation you might have with your child: “Which shirt do you want?” (Hold up two shirts—both of which are acceptable to you.) “Do you want the blue shirt or do you want the red shirt?” (Your child makes the choice. Encourage his use of language!) “You want the red shirt.”Initially you may be both asking the questions and providing the answers, especially in the beginning, until your child learns to respond. When your childdoesn’t understand or just doesn’t want to choose, make the choice for him. If your child has the expressive language, encourage him to answer yourquestions.At first let him choose between only two articles of clothing, such as his shirt and his pants. Have them out where he can see them. As he becomescompetent in doing this, you can gradually increase the number of choices.

2. If you think your child is beginning to understand the names of two pieces of his clothing, let him use this knowledge by pausing after posing aquestion, such as:

“Where is your shirt?”

If he shows that he understands, you can encourage him by saying something such as:

“Get your shirt.”

“Yes, that’s your shirt.”

3. After you have talked to your child for a while during dressing, “forget” an article of clothing, perhaps socks. Ask:

“What do you need?” Look puzzled.

See if your child indicates socks. He may do this by pointing to his shoes and shaking his head, or glancing to where he knows his socks are kept.



Encourage him to get them. Help him if needed. Say:

“Mommy forgot your socks.”

“Get your socks.”

If your youngster is using expressive language, he may respond by answering your question. Keeping in mind that his attempt may be an approximation,offer praise and model the word pronounced correctly and used in a short and simple sentence. The conversation may go something like this:

“What do you need?”

“Ock!”

“Right! You need your socks. Get your socks!”

4. Begin to ask your child questions without showing him articles of clothing; for example, “What do you want to wear today?” If he does not understand,you can ask questions such as, “What do you want to wear, pants or shorts?” “Do you want the blue or the grey sweater?” If he does not understand you, showhim the clothes and repeat the question.

SPEECH: Learning to VocalizePurpose of the Game: To help your child learn that his vocalizations can make something happen and to encourage your child’s spontaneousvocalizations

What You Need:

Three or four small toy animals

A toy barn or

A cardboard box, such as a shoebox, with an opening in it for a door

What to Do:1. Sit beside your child, with the box slightly to one side between you. Bring out one of the toy animals. Use language such as:

“Here’s the rabbit.”

“He wants to hop.”

“I’ll put him in the barn.”

“Let’s go, rabbit!”

2. Put the animal down a foot or two away from the “barn” and hold it there. When you have your child’s attention, say “Hop, hop, hop,” moving the bunnyeach time you say “hop.” Continue making the sound as long as the animal is moving.

3. Model this with each animal as you “walk,” “jump” or “run” them one by one into the barn. For variety, change the speed or rhythm of your vocalizing. Forexample, say a single short “HOP,” moving an animal a short distance at the same time. Suddenly stop moving and vocalizing, and pause for a second, thenproceed as before. Speed up and quickly produce two or three “HOPs.” Move the animal for each sound. Children love the suspense of a pause and willsometimes spontaneously vocalize to “help” the animal move. If your child does this, have the animal “move” in imitation of your child’s vocalizing: fast, slow,stopping, continuous, briefly, etc. Praise him! Let him know that you think his vocalizing is very important.

4. Retrieve the animals from the barn and tell your child it’s his turn. Say, “It’s your turn. You help the animals move. Here’s a cow.”

5. Take an animal as before, hold it in position and look expectantly toward your child. Do not move the animal unless he vocalizes.

6. If your child does not vocalize at first, continue to hold the animal waiting in position and say, “I don’t hear you.” If your child still does not vocalize,model it for him again, moving the animal as before.

7. It may require several days of similar activities before your child begins using his voice this way. But all the while, he is watching and listening andabsorbing information.

Variations:1. If your child enjoys playing with blocks, you can build a tower, stacking one block on top of another each time he says “Up” or “Up, up, up.” Or, you canline several stacks of two or three blocks in front of him. Knock them over one at a time each time he says “Down!”

2. If your child has a voice‑activated toy (one that lights up or moves when somebody vocalizes), your child can play by himself and receive immediatereward for using his voice. You might find one of these toys in a large toy store or an electronic store.

3. Let your child have a turn moving the animal or puppet along as you use your voice. This change will help your child learn more about turn‑taking.

If Your Child Is Ready: Advanced Language and Skills1. If your child has some expressive language vocabulary such as “Move,” “Hot,” “Run,” “Walk,” “Go,” etc., have him give you the commands as you move theanimal.

2. As your child begins to realize that vocalizations are purposeful, expect him to vocalize on certain occasions throughout the day. For example, if hewants some juice and leads you to the refrigerator, wait before you pour the juice. Look at him expectantly. If he doesn’t vocalize, ask “What do you want?” Ifhe still does not vocalize, give him the language: “You want some juice.”

A Thinking Activity: Goop!



Purpose of the Activity:

To help your child understand changes in texture when materials are combined

To learn the language of textures

To encourage language as you and your child make Goop!

What You Need:Cornstarch

Water

Water‑based paint

A small tray with sides (Styrofoam meat trays work well)

A brown grocery bag cut open to a flat piece of paper, or any other large piece of paper.

What to Do:1. Place a small amount of cornstarch on the tray. Ask your child, “What will happen when we add water?” Then add the colored water until the cornstarchbecomes slightly thick. Ask your child, “What happened?”

2. Now play with the “goop,” talking about the different changes as it becomes more liquid in the warmth of your hands.

3. Use language such as “sticky” and “wet.” This is a chance to use lots of adjectives!

4. Make handprint designs on the brown paper as you talk about what you are doing.

5. Display the artwork so you and your preschooler can continue to talk about “Goop” fun.

Variations:What else can you find in your home that changes texture? You can experiment with ice cream or jello.

E) SUMMARY

Use ongoing informal assessment to measure your child's learning.

Links to MoreLook here for additional ideas and information.

Language Samples

Speech and Hearing Milestones

Go to the Next LessonYES! You have completed reading Lesson 1: Informal Assessment. Now try some ideas with your child. Consider sharingquestions and successes using the yellow box on any page. Your changing concerns and your child’s increasing skills will besaved in “reports I’ve sent.” You can use these forms to show service providers or family and celebrate progress together. Thenproceed to Lesson 2: Reinforcing Behavior so this course becomes an individualized guide or go back to the Preschool Coursecontent to select another module.

To contact JTC use the yellow report/comment box on every page, upload a document to your enrollment form,email [email protected] or call 213‑748‑5481.

Lesson 2: Reinforcing BehaviorDefinition of LanguageLet’s begin by reviewing what was covered in Lesson One.

Language can be defined as the formal method by which we communicate our ideas, thoughts and feelings. When youcommunicate using language, it can be written, spoken or signed. Speech is an audible way of expressing language.

Let’s look at an example of speech and language. Like most young preschool children, your little one probably loves to play with aball. Your child must first learn to understand the word “ball” before she learns to say or sign it spontaneously. If you say and

http://www.jtc.org/parents/ideas-advice-blog-comments/assessing-expressive-language-a-language-sample

https://pals.jtc.org/en/account/participant/classroom/lesson/page.php?csid=1&lid=2

mailto:%[email protected]

http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/chart.htm

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sign, “Go get the ball,” she might immediately look for it. She understands the language you are using as you tell her to get theball. Later, she will attempt to express the word by saying or signing it.

At first your child’s spontaneous spoken language attempts may sound like “ba” or “b‑b‑b.” Even though she is not saying theword clearly, she still knows and understands “ball” and she knows the language used to name it. You will know what she meansby her speech sounds. Both you and your child understand the word even though her speech may not be clear. Her receptivelanguage (understanding the meaning of words) will develop before her speech skills (her ability to say words spontaneously andclearly) catch up.

A) LISTENINGNotice your child's responses to spoken language.

When will my child talk?A child with normal hearing listens to spoken language for nearly a year before she expresses her first words. Your preschoolchild with a hearing loss also needs to listen to language for many, many months before you can expect her to understandand use spoken language. In order to be “in touch” with the sounds of language, she needs appropriate amplification. Thisis why it is important that your child have access to the sounds of the human voice through hearing aids or a cochlear implant assoon as possible.

If your youngster is not wearing aids or her implant during all her waking hours, this is your first goal. When your child jumps outof bed in the morning, greet her with a kiss and her hearing aids or speech processor! While she is awake, she should always be ina world of sound. The only time during the day that her amplification should be removed is when she takes a nap or when she isinvolved in water play.

Even if your little one is wearing her amplification all day, there are still many factors that contribute to how soon she will begin totalk. The first of these is the extent of the hearing loss. Does your child have a profound loss, or is it moderate in degree? Thenext factor to consider is the use of amplification. At what age did your child receive her hearing aids or implant and so begin to“learn to listen”? What does she hear with her amplification? Remember that with each child, responses to sound are different. When did sound become meaningful to her? And an equally important factor is the amount of consistent language stimulationprovided by you. Have you been talking, talking, talking to your child? Think seriously about the extent of your child’s hearingloss, when she was aided, and how much consistent exposure to spoken language she has. Your thoughts will help you betterunderstand your child’s current level of language and speech development.

B) LANGUAGELearn about the different communication options.

Your Role as ParentsYoung children learn best informally, which is why it is important to talk about your youngster’s interests during your dailyroutines. If your conversation is about what interests her, your child is more apt to attend to what you are telling her. Take time,then, to observe your child to see what she likes to do, what intrigues her, and what she is curious about. Look and listen to theworld through your child’s eyes and ears. She lives in the present—the here and now. Try to see and hear things the way shedoes. Her world is full of wonders and new things to explore. It is all right there before her.

Your little one’s world is continually exciting because it is filled with discovery. These are the times you want to capture as you talkto your preschooler. Your little one will benefit much more from talking about these moments and her discoveries than from hoursof formal language lessons. We acquire language during daily routines and through interesting and meaningful communication.

Talking frequently to your preschooler will soon become very natural to you. Don’t forget—you are quite a bit taller than she



is. You will find that getting down to your child’s eye and ear level will bring your voice closer to her. If you are standing, you willhave to use a deep‑knee bend. Do not bend from the waist. When you do, your face is at an angle and she does not see or hearyou clearly. If your child is playing on the floor, sit on the floor with her. At mealtimes, sit at the table, so you are close to herhearing aid or cochlear implant. This will allow the acoustic stimulus of your voice to be perceived by the brain in a direct andclear manner. This is important for central auditory development.You already know that the first words your child learns will probably be words to name objects and people and words associatedwith actions. Words like up, no, more, bye‑bye, cookie, car, Mommy, Daddy, down, fall, drink are common in vocabularies ofyoung children. You can help your child learn names of things by naming them for her. During mealtime, for example, talk aboutthis experience:

“Mmmm, you’re eating your cereal.”“Uh‑oh! The milk spilled.”“We need to get a spoon. Let’s find the spoon.”“You’re all finished. No more.”Talk about the actions you do such as pouring, stirring and cooking. Use phrases and sentences, such as:“Daddy’s pouring the water.”“You’re helping! You’re stirring the pudding.”“I’m cooking carrots.”

You will be repeating the same phrases and words over and over with your child, and this is exactly what you want to do. Sheneeds many opportunities to hear words through her hearing aids or cochlear implant before she will learn to recognize them. Only you can provide this necessary repetition during natural, conversational interactions with your child.

Now you know the importance of talking and how to talk to your little one. But conversation goes two ways, and your preschoolerhas a lot she wants to tell you. You will have to work hard as a listener because her communication skills are just developing. Themore effort you put into listening, the greater effort she will put into communicating. Remember how difficult it is for her. Helpher by being an active listener to all her attempts to communicate.

Often parents ask whether their child can learn spoken language by watching television or listening to the radio. Normal‑hearingpreschoolers learn language during their day‑to‑day, interactive routines with parents and caregivers. While they do pick up somelanguage from children’s shows in which words are repeated often, these programs do not provide the necessary environment forlanguage development. In addition, a child with a hearing loss generally does not hear clearly enough, even with amplification, tolearn easily from a child’s television show. Her learning will come from you as you talk to her about your daily routines, about hertoys and about everything that interests her. Language is best learned through interactive conversations with family and friends. Children learn through the description of life given by their parents.

Now is a good time to stop and reflect for a few minutes about your child’s language skills. Get your notebook and review herreceptive and expressive vocabulary lists. Can you add any new words?

Communication OptionsNaturally you want your child to develop the best communication skills possible. To do that, you will want to explore the variousmodes of communication available to you. These might include: Auditory‑Oral, Auditory‑Verbal, Total Communication, CuedSpeech and Sign Language of the Deaf Community. Let’s briefly look at each of these.

A. If you choose the Auditory‑Verbal approach to communication, your little one will learn spoken language exclusively throughthe sense of hearing. You and your child will meet regularly with a Certified Auditory‑Verbal Therapist (an LSLS‑AVT) You will be avery important part of your child’s therapy because the therapist will teach you techniques and strategies to create an auditory



environment at home. When your child is ready for school, she will be in a classroom with hearing children. Auditory‑Verbaltherapy will continue as she develops her listening and spoken language skills. Audiologic management and amplificationtechnology will be important, since it is through the very best amplification that your daughter will learn to communicate.

B. Like the Auditory–Verbal approach, Auditory‑Oral communication uses residual hearing as the basis for understanding anddeveloping spoken language. You and your child will also receive speech/language therapy and use spoken language in school. She may attend a school or classroom with other children who have a hearing loss. A specially trained teacher may teach her on afull‑time basis. She may attend this class part‑time or she may be mainstreamed for some or all of her classes. In thiscommunication option, speechreading is accepted as part of the learning strategy.

C. If you use Cued Speech with your preschooler, you are learning formal, specific hand shapes that represent the consonant andvowel sounds (not the letters) of your spoken language. These hand shapes are placed in different locations near the mouth andthroat, and they are presented along with spoken language to aid your child with her speechreading or lipreading. The Cuesthemselves do not convey meaning. They represent the sounds of spoken language. Your child may attend a special class withother children who have a hearing loss and a teacher who cues. Or she may be mainstreamed with a Cued Speech transliterator. To learn this formal system, your family will need to learn Cued Speech in special classes or with a special teacher.

D. Total Communication is an approach that uses both signs and speech. In English‑speaking countries, this may include aformal system such as Signing Exact English, or using signs for many words while speaking. With older children and adults,fingerspelling may be used, too. The goal of Total Communication is to give a child communication access through vision andhearing. If this is the approach you choose, your preschooler should learn total communication both at home and at school.Parents will want to ask staff how they provide Total Communication because sometimes it can be vary from program to program.Families can learn Total Communication through classes and from deaf adults so they can use this approach fluently with theirchild.

E. Sign language usually refers to the language used by the Deaf Community in that country. Countries each have their own signlanguage, such as British or Spanish Sign Language. In the United States the language used is American Sign Language (ASL). ASLis a full language with its own grammar, syntax and sentence structure and is not spoken. ASL and spoken English are not usedsimultaneously. A child who learns ASL first will learn English later to use for reading and writing. If you have chosen the SignLanguage option, your child should use that language at home and at school. Families can learn sign language through classesand from Deaf adults. Parents need to become fluent in sign to communicate fully with their children and support their languageacquisition.

Making A DecisionYou will want to consider some important factors when making the decision about which method you will use with your child. Oneof the most important factors is your child’s needs and abilities. As you learn more about your child, you will see that onemethod of communication is best for your child and your family.

Something else to consider is the availability of the communication mode in your community. Is it used in the school system? Arethere classes to help parents and other family members? While you are thinking about what option you want to choose for yourchild, you will want to visit different schools and watch the classrooms. You will also want to meet adults who are deaf and who useeach method. It is important to be aware that many people with a hearing loss have learned spoken language.

Possibly a friend, another parent or community organizations will help you gather this information. However, you must make thefinal decision, for you know your preschooler best. Whatever you decide, give it a 100 percent commitment! But remember, nodecision must be final and absolute. Later, if you feel that you need to make a change, you can, depending on your child’schronological and hearing age. There are methods, such as oral communication, that are dependent on development during the



critical period of a child’s early years.

C) SPEECHYour little one may have spontaneous spoken words in her vocabulary now. You want her to develop clear, intelligible speech, too. Like any other child, there are specific developmental steps she must follow to develop her speech skills. First, she must absorbspoken language by listening to you. At the same time, she must experiment with making sounds herself.

A hearing baby continues to refine her sounds because she loves the sounds she makes. This is why it is so important that yourchild wear her hearing aids or cochlear implant during all her waking hours. When your child hears herself and when she isencouraged by your attention and response to her voice, she will be motivated to continue to vocalize. It is important for your preschooler to enjoy making speech sounds by babbling, jabbering or making sounds while she plays. Shewill begin to listen to herself and increase the amount and variety of her vocalizations over time. Vocalizing and babbling are partof the process of speech development! If your child babbles, encourage her to continue to use her voice by smiling and saying, “Ihear you. What a nice voice you have.” Imitate her sounds or offer appropriate language for the situation. For example, you mightrespond, “Ball! You want to play ball.”

The next step is for your child to NEED to talk to you. Because you know her so well, you can probably meet many of youryoungster’s needs and desires without her even asking. For example, serving fruit, you may not need to ask her, “What do youwant? Do you want a banana or an apple?” However, she needs you to ask her. When you do, she has this important opportunityto use her voice to communicate. Her speech may not be clear, but her message will be unmistakable. You then respond withappropriate words and actions to provide the “reward” for her efforts. For example, your child may tell you, “Ba‑a.” As you handher a piece of fruit, you will provide a speech and language model: “You want a banana.”

Your response to your child’s first attempts at speech is critical. Now is the time to encourage her to keep talking—no matter howit sounds. Later you can help her improve how she says it. Your first and most important role is providing your good speech asher model. As you encourage her to use her voice meaningfully, your expectations will continue to help her progress.

But remember, your preschooler’s speech development will reflect her aided hearing levels. If she is able to hear her own voice,she will begin to vocalize. By hearing your voice, she will attempt to imitate the sounds of spoken language, first in babbling andjargon. Eventually she will attempt to use words she understands. The more speech sounds she can detect and discriminate, theclearer her speech will be.The quality of your child’s speech and the time it takes to develop will depend on many factors. Among these are:

1. How much residual hearing she has2. How early her hearing loss was diagnosed3. How soon she received appropriate amplification4. Whether she is wearing her amplification during all waking hours5. How soon she receives special help to acquire communication skills6. If there are other conditions which may slow spoken language development7. How much linguistic stimulation you and the rest of the family provide during everyday experiences.

Behavior

Start with Respect and a Loving RelationshipLike anything that grows, children grow from the roots up. The roots must be firmly planted in good soil: a warm and lovingrelationship based on mutual respect. Your child is more likely to accept the limits you set for her if you recognize her as a personwith her own needs and rights. She will test the limits on occasion because this is how she learns. If you treat her with fairness,



she will probably respond, in time, with respect for your authority.

Between You and Your ChildThe relationship that you build between you and your child is the foundation of good discipline. It is how you feel about yourselfand your child that tells you how to help her learn the things she must learn. It is knowing yourself and what you expect from yourchild that gives you the strength to say “No” or “Yes.” It is recognizing her childlike nature, her curiosity, her need to test her new‑found independence, and her desire to love and be loved that will put discipline in its proper place in the scheme of things. Sometimes an orderly daily routine—a kind of built‑in discipline—will eliminate many conflicts. Flexibility and at least some“childproof” areas will help. But underneath all discipline, no matter how it is carried out, must be a foundation of genuine love.

Freedom within LimitsIt is easier to set reasonable limits if you remember your child’s need for freedom to explore, to learn, and to discover. Be carefulnot to expect the unreasonable, nor to establish rules solely for your convenience. Naturally, adults need to be considered. Butthe rights of children to play freely without too much adult interference and to learn by doing things themselves must berecognized. Expect children to have their own way of looking at things and to have their own feelings. Then make an effort tohelp them find satisfactory and acceptable ways of expressing them.

When you decide on rules or limits, believe in them. Have a good reason for establishing a rule. Its purpose should be to help achild learn what she can or cannot do. Do not set limits for their own sake. There will be enough times when you must say, “No,”“Don’t,” “Not now,” or “Not here,” because something is not safe, because it is inappropriate, or because it infringes on the rightsof others. When you have faith in the necessity and fairness of a rule or limit and in your ability to set it and see it through, youwill be able to say “No” with confidence. Then you will be comfortable about helping your child accept it.

Childproofing Your HouseHow can you comfortably allow your child the freedom and flexibility to play without too many restrictions? Try to make yourhouse as childproof as possible. While your child is still a toddler, remove breakables or fragile items. Closing doors to certainrooms that are off‑limits—such as siblings’ rooms, your own room and bathrooms—may help avoid unhappy moments. Someparents have found that expandable gates can help close off areas. What you need is to have an environment in which your childcan actively do many things—interacting with and exploring her surroundings—without worrying constantly. This is important, notonly for safety reasons, but also to reduce the number of times you must say “no.” Your child wants to explore her environmentand she wants to please you. If your house is set up to allow her to explore, she can more easily do both.

Indoor Play AreasYou may want to set aside certain areas that are especially designed for your child’s play. If she wants to paint, for example, youcould set up an area where she can paint freely, and where it won’t matter if some of the paint or water spills. Even at the age oftwo or three, a child can learn that she can play with water or paint in one part of the house, but never in another. Given thefreedom to do what she wants in a particular area, she need not try constantly to do it elsewhere.

Routines: Structuring the DayIt may make things easier for everyone in your family if you simplify the procedures and routines that structure your child’s day. Make mealtime, naptime, cleanup time, and bedtime into routines and keep them as consistent as possible. Consistency is thekey to good behavior and discipline. It’s important not to be rigid, however, in a routine. Flexibility is always necessary sincethere are often changes in our schedules. Set a few clear and definite rules, with as little need for additional instruction aspossible. The fewer “Don’ts” and “No’s,” the better. If your child knows what to expect and what is expected of her, you won’thave to tell her constantly what to do.



Make transitions smooth by preparing your child for changes. Alert her shortly before one activity is to end and another begins. Ifit is lunchtime, for example, let your child know several minutes ahead of time that she will have to stop playing soon. You mightshow her a picture of the dining table so she understands that it will soon be time to eat. She will more readily accept stoppingwhat she is doing if she has had some warning. Setting a cooking timer might help prepare her for the change.

Look at Your ScheduleTake a careful look at your day and see if there are specific times when your child’s behavior is difficult to handle. Sometimesrearranging your schedule can eliminate these trouble spots. There may be times of the day when either you or your child is morelikely to feel pressured and become irritable.

If both parents work, and especially if your child must be taken to a sitter, mornings can be hectic. Doing as much as possible thenight before can help make the morning rush more tolerable. You can pack your child’s things and even put them in the car, haveclothes laid out and ready for the morning, and set the breakfast table the night before. Even getting up a few minutes earlier mayhelp. Look at your day. Find the trouble spots. Try to reduce them.

Taking Your Child Shopping and on ErrandsPart of your daily routine often will include taking your child with you on errands. If you are taking your child shopping or takingher with you on other errands, there are ways to reduce possible behavior problems so the experience is more enjoyable for bothof you. Before you leave, take a minute to explain to your child—with words and perhaps with pictures—where you are going. Thisprepares your child and lets her know what to expect. Since you can’t “childproof” a store, and you know your child will naturallywant to explore, use something to restrict your child’s movement, such as a shopping cart or a stroller.

Let your child hold something in the store. It can be a purse, a picture of something on your shopping list (made from illustrationson packages, labels or magazines). Or you can ask your child to help by carrying a purchase. Be sure it is not heavy, bulky orfragile.

Keep the errand brief. Your child’s attention span and patience are both short. She can’t be expected to have the same tolerancefor running errands that an adult has.

If your child misbehaves, react as calmly as possible and without anger. Pick the child up and matter‑of‑factly remove her fromthe trouble area. If necessary, take her from the store as quickly as you can after completing your errand.

Understanding Your Child's Behavior

Your Child's Behavior has a MessageWhen your child misbehaves, you might ask yourself: “What is my child trying to tell me? What is it she needs?” It may help, whentrying to understand your child’s behavior, to look at the situation through her eyes. As you know, your child uses nonverbal waysto make her needs and wishes known. Your child’s behavior is a major way in which she communicates with you. Her misbehavioris telling you something that she cannot express with words. If you take the time to listen to her “message,” she may not need tokeep repeating that same behavior.

Rewarding Good BehaviorWhen your child is behaving in an acceptable manner, give her some extra approval. No matter how brief this positive attention is,



it is likely to bring more good behavior. Children want the love and approval of their parents, and they will often repeat behaviorthat brings them praise.

Here is an example. Your child has been arguing with a playmate, but she is now playing quietly. Tell her, “I like the way you areplaying.” A reassuring pat on the back offers another reward. Or if your child has been fussing and pouting and is evenmomentarily smiling, say, “Oh, I like the way you’re smiling! What a nice smile!” When your child shares a toy, praise her. A few,pleasant, positive comments to your child throughout the day might help her continue this good behavior. It will be a big boost toyour preschooler’s self‑esteem as well.

Temper TantrumsAll young children become angry and frustrated at one time or another. Like other little children, your child’s frustration or angermay lead to an outburst of temper—a temper tantrum.

If you understand that temper tantrums are common in young children, you may be less upset by her tantrums. And if you do notreact too strongly with anger or fear, the outbursts are apt to occur less often and not last as long. Sometimes a change in yourresponse to tantrums will help your child learn to meet frustrations and express her feelings in more acceptable ways. Remain ascalm as possible and let your child work through her emotions. After she has calmed down, a reassuring hug often helps.

Avoid Head‐on CollisionsSometimes you can avoid tantrums by understanding why they occur. Check the following list of possible causes of tantrums tosee if any of them apply to your child:

1. She may be demanding attention. Tantrums may have become a habit and she may have learned that they succeed in gettingher what she wants.

2. She may be reacting to too many rules and too much interference in her activities.

3. She may be resisting limits set by adults or resenting some form of punishment.

4. She may be overtired or hungry. Perhaps it has been an especially busy day.

5. She may be disappointed. Try to make things clear for her. Don’t make promises that you may not be able to fulfill.

6. She may be teased into a tantrum by another child or even an adult.

7. She may not understand what is expected of her. For the child who is deaf or hard‑of‑hearing, misunderstandings shoulddecrease as she and you learn to communicate more easily and more effectively.

8. She may feel pushed beyond her limits. Adults may expect too much of her. Young children, for example, cannot sit still forlong periods of time.

9. Her natural frustration level may be low. Some children simply have a “low boiling point.” Extra care must be taken not topush these children beyond their limits. But do not give such a child the feeling that you are “afraid” of her temper.

10. She may be imitating. Anger is contagious and children imitate the behavior of those around them. Parents must set anexample of self‑control and use restraint in expressing their own anger.



Once a tantrum is underway, try to be as calm as possible. When your child has a tantrum, remove her from the situation, if at allpossible. This is not the time to reason with her, or to force her to look at you. On the other hand, don’t completely ignore her—stay near your child to help her feel secure. She may be terrified by her own feelings and her inability to control them. Shaking heror spanking her will probably only increase her fear.Let her cry it out—she needs to release all of that emotional turmoil in some way. Don’t let her hurt herself, break things or hityou. You may need to hold her. If you remain calm, your child will calm down faster herself.

If the tantrum is in response to a limit you have set, let the tantrum finish but remain firm on the limit you were enforcing. Don’tallow the tantrum to sway your decision. If you do, your child may learn that tantrums are a way of controlling you, and you mayhave more and more of them with which to deal. The less reaction you have, and the calmer you are, the better it will be for bothyou and your child. You can reassure your child and comfort her after the tantrum is over.

As your child grows and begins to play with other children, it may help to have a visual and efficient means of explaining somebasic social rules. You might want to make a “Limits Book” which will illustrate typical situations. Follow this link for a PDFcontaining pictures suitable for use in making a “Limits Book.” Use a scrapbook or notebook, and paste the pictures one to apage. Add to the book as your child grows and new social situations arise.

Do not write on the pages. Rather, show the picture to your child and use language appropriate to her level. By doing this, the“Limits Book” can grow with her language. Many opportunities for using social language that children need will come up naturallywith the “Limits Book”—expressions such as: “I’m sorry,” “Don’t hit me,” and “Stop it!”Consistent use of the “Limits Book” will cut down on problems because it will help your child understand what is expected of her.Keep it handy so that it is ready when the occasion arises.

Try to stop a tantrum before it startsn spite of all your efforts to understand, your child is likely to have some flare‑ups of temper. Things don’t always go smoothly,and occasionally she is bound to show her temper. Accept her right to be angry, even if you don’t like the way she shows it. It isnot wrong to have such feelings. You want to teach her how to handle them.

You may recognize the early signals that your child is beginning to get upset. Take a moment to think about ways you can avoidan explosion. You might remove your child from one situation; you might help your child in another situation. Sometimes yourchild will welcome your help in putting a toy together. Giving her part of her meal early may help her wait until dinnertime. Lookat the situation and see what you might do.

Dealing with a tantrum

Setting LimitsYou know that you can help your child by structuring her physical environment so she can explore and play more freely. You knowthe advantages of arranging your time and establishing routines. However, even when you have carefully structured your child’senvironment, there will be times when you will have to say, “No!”

Help Your Child Learn to Get AlongCertain misbehavior should not be excused or accepted because your child has a hearing loss. As a member of the family, sheneeds help in learning to respect the rights of all other family members. The idea is—as is the intent of this entire course—to helpyou meet your preschooler’s needs both as a child who has a hearing loss and as a child. Because of her special needs, hercommunication needs, it is all the more important that she share the activities of other children—and that she learn to acceptnecessary limits on her behavior.

Make a "Limits Book"

VIDEO CLIP & IDEAS FOR EXTRA LEARNING

https://pals.jtc.org/parent-downloads/Post_Summer_Handouts/CounselingChildDev/No-No-Pictures.pdf

https://pals.jtc.org/parent-downloads/Post_Summer_Handouts/CounselingChildDev/No-No-Pictures.pdf



View brief video clip celebrating the progress of JTC preschooler enjoying reading together with a parent.

Develop fun activities to encourage your child's language.

View a video clip from an individual speech language session involving discussing a book.

LISTENING: On and OffPurpose of the Game:To help your child become aware of the difference between the presence and absence of the sound of music

What You Need:A CD player or tape recorderMusic with a strong beat, such as a marchScarves or other pieces of fabric

What to Do:1. Bring out scarves that can be waved in the air. Have your child listen while you turn on the CD player. Point to your ear andsay, “LISTEN!”

2. When the music begins, say, “I HEAR THE MUSIC! IT’S ON.” At the same time, wave your scarf. If possible, you can have a



helper, perhaps a brother or a sister, turn the music on and off.

3. After a few moments, stop the music. Say, “IT’S OFF.” Stop waving your scarf.

4. Again, tell your child to listen. Then, hand her a scarf. When the music begins, wave your scarf and encourage her to do thesame. If she does not know what to do, guide her hand. Show her you are enjoying the game!

5. Start and stop the music again several times. If you think your child is able, put your scarf out of sight and encourage her torespond by herself. If she doesn’t start moving her scarf as soon as the music begins, guide her hand. If she continues when themusic stops, again stop her hand. Let her see you start or stop the music each time. Offer her lots of praise when she respondsappropriately.

6. Give your child her scarf again, and help her wait for the music to begin. When it does, again encourage her to move her scarfto the music.

7. When she is ready, put your scarf away and let her try to respond on her own. Give her help if she needs it.

Remember: This is to be fun for you and your child. In this, as in all games and activities, your praise and reinforcement of yourchild’s efforts are very important. Let her know your pleasure in her success. Let her know you are pleased when she is trying evenif she needs a lot of help. And let her know that you appreciate her doing her best!

Variations:1. Use dolls or stuffed animals (especially if your child has a favorite) and have them dance to the music.

2. As your child becomes better able to respond by listening alone, you can use music with a less definite beat.

3. Substitute a piano or a drum or other instrument for the CD or tape.

If Your Child Is Ready: Advanced Language and Skills1. Your child can clap her hands or dance to the music, stopping and freezing all action when the music stops.

2. You can play a variation of musical chairs in which your child marches when the music is “ON,” and sits down when it is “OFF.”This response is particularly good when your child is able to respond by listening alone. As she marches, she is sometimes furtherfrom the source of sound, which increases the difficulty.

3. Let your child discriminate between two different types of music, perhaps a fast march versus something slow. Ask your childto make her stuffed animal dance slowly during the slower music and quickly during the march.

LANGUAGE: MealtimePurpose of the Game:To expose your child to vocabulary associated with mealtimeTo help your child enjoy mealtime with the family

What You Need:You and your familyFood served family style



When to Play: Breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack time

What to Do:1. Put the food for the meal on the table in serving bowls.

2. Just before serving a portion, pause a moment to see if you have your child’s attention. If possible, don’t serve your childfirst. If you do, she will be interested in eating and not attending to the language you use as you serve other family members.

3. As you serve food to each family member, say something about the food. Even if she is not looking, keep talking. Forexample, say things like:

“Here are some beans.” “Daddy wants beans.” (While serving Daddy beans)

4. Serve your child small portions—always a good idea with young children—but here it serves another purpose. Your child mayask for “more,” providing an extra opportunity for using language. Your child will be most interested when it is her food you areserving.

5. Don’t be afraid to use questions. It encourages your child to make choices. You might say:

“Do you want potatoes and carrots?” “Do you want a slice of bread?”

6. You can provide opportunities for your child to ask for food by occasionally forgetting to put something she really likes on herplate. When she points, fusses or in some way indicates your mistake, say:

“Oh! I forgot your potatoes.” “Do you want some potatoes?” “Here are some potatoes.”

7. Repeat the routine as often as possible. Your child will have to hear the same language many times before she will understandit and finally use it herself.

Variations:1. Let your child help in some simple food preparation to reinforce names of different foods.

2. Make a scrapbook of pictures of food (after your child has had some experience with the real thing). With your child’s help,find food pictures in magazines or advertisements. Cut them out. Divide your pictures into categories, such as Breakfast Foods (orLunch or Dinner Foods) or Vegetables, Fruits, etc. Let your preschooler help you paste the pictures into a scrapbook.

3. Let your child help you set the table to reinforce names of things you use: forks, spoons, plates, cups, glasses, napkins, etc.

If Your Child Is Ready: Advanced Language and Skills1. Mealtime is a good opportunity to expand your child’s vocabulary. Many basic food names (beans, rice, meat, milk, etc.) mayalready be a part of her vocabulary. Take what she knows and expand on it. Always combine new language with familiarlanguage. For example, if your child understands “Here’s your soup,” you can introduce the word “hot” in a sentence such as “Becareful! The soup is hot!” “Potatoes” can be used in a longer sentence as you say, “Have some mashed potatoes” or “Let’s put gravy



on your mashed potatoes.”

2. In the beginning, emphasize general categories of foods and utensils used in eating. When your child recognizes “cereal,”begin teaching “oatmeal,” “Wheaties,” “Cornflakes,” etc. You may initially use “juice” to refer to all fruit‑flavored drinks. When yourchild learns “juice,” begin to differentiate and teach “lemonade,” “orange juice,” etc. When your child learns “spoon,” teach “soupspoon,” “teaspoon,” “tablespoon,” or “big spoon” and “little spoon.”

3. You can begin to ask her what she wants to eat. If she does not respond, you can give her choices. “Do you want corn orpeas?” While you ask, show her the food and give her an opportunity to use only her hearing. Remember that you have to modelthe language correctly, but not expect her to use perfect speech as she says the word. If you constantly urge her to say the wordperfectly, she will stop trying. Little ones who are beginning to develop their expressive language will make errors, and they willnot be intelligible to people outside the family.

SPEECH: BlowingPurpose of the Game:To help your child develop her skills in blowing. This skill will be useful in producing a wide variety of speech sounds.

What You Need:A wand and a soapy, bubbly liquid

What to Do:1. Explain that you are going to blow some bubbles.

2. Pause a moment to get her attention. Blow gently. Make sure you have a natural breath stream. Don’t move your body as youblow, or your child might imitate your body movement rather than the blowing action.

3. Then hold the bubble blower or wand in the same position in front of your child’s lips. Encourage her to blow the bubbles.

4. If she doesn’t seem to understand what is required, blow on the back of her hand so she feels your breath. Encourage her toimitate you.

5. Learning to blow takes practice. Be patient. Remember, this is a game, so have fun!

Variations:After your child has gained some ability to blow, you can begin to add some voiceless speech sounds. Panting like a little doggiecan help get the “h” sound started. Pretend to be puppies and take turns! Stuffed animals or pictures to hold can be helpful here!

You can teach the fricative /th/ by blowing and then sticking your tongue gently through your teeth. Before bath time, and alsobefore taking off your child’s hearing aids or cochlear implant, you can work on this sound. While the bath tub is filling, say toyour child, “Look! It’s bath time.” If you have bubble bath, you can sit outside the bathtub and practice blowing the bubbles off ofyour hands. After a few practice tries, help your child say, “th” by blowing first. When she can produce this sound, add “ba.” Nowassociate it with getting into the tub. “It’s bath time!”

Another voiceless speech sound might be “sh, sh, sh.”

Try to whisper this sound together. Then switch to a voiced sound and say it as loud as you can: “BA!”



THINKING ACTIVITY: Making Play DoughPurpose of the Activity: To introduce language used in measuring, coloring and molding play dough and to provide your child with an opportunity toexplore and create

What You Need: Large bowlMeasuring cupsLarge mixing spoon Washable paint

Tools: cookie cutters, rolling pin, garlic press, pizza cutter

Basic Recipe: 2 cups flour 1 cup salt vegetable oil to moisten water to keep the dough from crumbling washable paint diluted with water to provide color

Alternate Recipe: 1 cup flour ½ cup salt 2 teaspoons cream of tartar 1 cup water 1 tablespoon oil washable paint diluted with water to provide color

What to Do:1. Put the ingredients for making play dough on the table. Help your child measure the ingredients and pour them into the bowl.Talk about each step of the mixing: “Take one cup of flour.” “Add another cup of flour.” “Pour the flour.” “Where is the salt?” “Pour in the water.” “Mix it.” “How does it feel? Is it lumpy?” “Stir it.” “Squeeze it.” “It’s squishy.”

2. When the play dough is mixed, divide it into three parts. Count them with your child: “One, two, three.”

3. Let your child choose a color for the play dough. Talk about the color. “What color do you want?” “Put in some blue.”



“Mix it.” “Look! What color is it?”

4. Continue until all three parts are colored. If you are working on color names with your child, you may want to talk about thecolors, not only when you mix them, but later as she plays with the dough. If you are working on counting, emphasize thenumbers, “one, two, three” as you separate the dough and again as you color it.

5. Let your child play with and mold the play dough you have made together. She can roll it, cut it and shape it in a variety ofways. Talk about what she does with the dough. “Roll, roll, roll it.” “Here’s a circle.” “See. It’s round.” “Cut the circle.” “You did a good job!”

6. If your child is able to hear the sounds of speech, you can begin to give simple instructions and verify whether she is able tounderstand the entire message or a key word.

Variations:“Smells Good Play Dough” can be made with unsweetened powdered fruit drink by using the following recipe: 2 ¾ cup flour ½ cup salt 3 tablespoons oil 4 tablespoons of unsweetened powdered drink mix 2 cups boiling water washable paint diluted with water

Have a conversation with your child about color and smell. “What does it smell like? It smells like a lemon!” “Here is a lemon. Does it smell the same?” “What color is the lemon? Is it the same color as our play dough?”

PLAYTIME ACTIVITY: Playing with BlocksPurpose of the Activity: To present language in connection with a playtime activity your child enjoys

What You Need: Blocks (Very young children may prefer small, hard‑rubber, plastic or wooden blocks that they can easily hold.)

What to Do: 1. Sit on the floor with your child in an area where you have plenty of room to play and build with blocks. Blocks are an excellenttoy for creative play because they encourage children to use their imagination in a variety of ways.

2. If you have the blocks in a container—a box or a basket—pick up the container and say something about them, such as, “Hereare the blocks!” Then dump them out on the floor in front of your child.



3. Follow your child’s lead. Let her choose what to do with the blocks. She may stack them, build with them, make towers, pushthem around on the floor or drop them back into the container. Encourage her to try different combinations of blocks, and let herdiscover what happens if she builds a tower too high or unevenly. She may think that knocking down a tower is the most fun of all!

4. Talk about the blocks and what your child does with them as the opportunity naturally comes up. You may say somethingsuch as:

“It’s a red block.” “Put it on top.” “Give Mommy the block.”

You might hand her the blocks, one by one, and say something such as:

“Here’s a block.” “Take the block.” “You took the block!” “Here’s another block.” “Up, up, up goes the tower.” “Uh‑oh! The tower fell down!”

5. When you are done playing with the blocks, have your child help you with putting them away. You can make clean‑up fun bymaking it a game to put the blocks into their container. Talk about what you and your child do. You might say:

“Let’s put away the blocks.” “Put them in the box.” “Good for you!” “Put in another block.”

6. Begin to give short, specific suggestions through audition alone. If she does not understand, permit her to lipread and showher what you want. Then immediately give her the suggestion auditorily again.

Variations:

1. “A Block Train” Two‑ and three‑year‑olds will enjoy using blocks to make a “train” which they can push across the floor. You can say, “Push the train.” “Choo‑choo.” “It’s a train.” “You pushed the train!”

2. “Stack the Blocks” Three‑ and four‑year olds enjoy building with blocks. Help your child gain pride in her accomplishment by showing that you arepleased with what she has built. Use language such as: “Put another block on.” “It’s getting high.” “Oops, it fell.” “Up, up!” “Oh! It’s high.”



3. “Building with Blocks”Some four‑year‑olds and most five‑year‑olds may build structures that really represent something. They may build houses, walls,garages, or roads. Try to recognize what your child is building and talk about it.

4. “The More, the Merrier” One of the many nice things about blocks is that there are usually many of them in a set. They lend themselves to play by morethan one child. Several children can play side by side with blocks, playing the same or even different games—each building andplaying according to his or her age, interest, and ability. If your child has brothers and sisters, block play is a good way of includingeverybody, and this naturally leads to lively conversation as you all play together.

5. “Kindergarten Blocks” Children also like large kindergarten blocks. They will play with them in a variety of ways according to their age, interest andinventiveness. No other toy will be of such lasting interest for your child, for she adapts blocks to her level as she grows. Your jobis to adapt the language to her interests as they change. These blocks can be made from scrap lumber (if you are skilled in usinghand or power tools) or they can be ordered from large mail‑order companies or toy manufacturers.

E) SUMMARYDetermine your child’s “hearing age.” Are her listening skills age appropriate?

Use the same words often, but in different sentences as you talk to your child.

Choose a communication method now and use it with your child. Verify the pros and cons of each method you consider. Give it 100% commitment!

Encourage your child to use her voice by babbling, jabbering or using beginning language. Give her a reason to communicate. Don’t just ask questionssuch as, “What color is this?” Instead, communicate naturally while playing together.

Reward your child’s good behavior.

Set limits and stay with them.


Improving Behaviors

Beginning Social Skills

Go to the Next LessonYES! You have completed reading Lesson 2: Reinforcing Behavior. Now try some ideas with your child. Consider sharing questionsand successes using the yellow box on any page. Your changing concerns and your child’s increasing skills will be saved in“reports I’ve sent.” You can use these forms to show service providers or family and celebrate progress together. Then proceedto Lesson 3: Sound Recognition so this course becomes an individualized guide or go back to the Preschool Course content toselect another module.


Lesson 3: Sound RecognitionThe Importance of Good AmplificationFor the last two lessons, you have been learning about language and speech development. As you’ve found, your youngster’sability to hear the sounds of spoken language plays a critical role in this process. Before reading any further, you may want to get

http://www.jtc.org/parents/ideas-advice-blog-comments/improving-behavior-by-increasing-communication



http://www.teachersandfamilies.com/open/parent/socialskills5.cfm




your notebook and open to the Audiology section so you can easily refer to your child’s audiogram as you read.

Spoken language is learned most easily through the sense of hearing. Your preschooler is learning how important it is to listen forsounds, especially the sounds of spoken language. As his parent, you are aware that his hearing aids or cochlear implant must beset so that he can hear as much as possible in his world. Since every aspect of your child’s spoken language development is basedon good amplification, let’s take a minute to consider your little one’s most recent, aided, audiologic test results.

If your child wears hearing aids, they should be set using speech mapping methods such as DSL. This method will assist theaudiologist in amplifying your child so that he has the best possible access to speech.

If your child uses a cochlear implant, he should also be tested in a soundproof test booth. This test will indicate that he is able todetect sounds across frequencies. Responses will vary among children. In general, however, you will find that the test will showlevels of approximately 20 to 30 dB across frequencies after all mapping has been successfully accomplished.

Whether your child wears an implant or hearing aids, you should be checking his amplification every morning before he puts it onfor the day. If this is already part of your daily routine, you can skip to the section, “Listening Environment” on page six.If you are not checking your child’s amplification every day, this is the time to begin. It’s easy to do and it’s critical to your child’ssuccess in developing spoken language skills.

Daily Hearing Aid CheckYou will need a hearing aid stethoscope that can be purchased from your hearing care professional. Each morning, listen to yourchild’s hearing aid through the stethoscope at the volume your child uses. Digital hearing aids generally do not have a volumewheel and you will listen through the aids, as they are pre‑set. While you listen, say the Ling Six Sounds. You remember them fromLesson One as:

Ahh (as in father) Ooo (as in moon) Eeee (as in key) Shhh (as in shoe) Ssss (as in sock) Mmmm (as in mommy)

While you listen, be aware of sounds of static, crackling, hissing, distortion or rumble. The moment you hear any differences in theLing Sounds, immediately contact your hearing care professional to have the aid repaired. And when the audiologist confirms thatyour child’s hearing aids are functioning well, it is important to have an aided audiologic evaluation to determine the sounds yourchild is able to hear.

You want your child to receive a strong, clear signal from his aids; so it’s very important to check the batteries daily, too. If youhave a battery tester, this is a quick and easy task. If you do not yet have one, you will need to check the aids four times a day tobe sure the signal remains clear.

If your child wears a cochlear implant, you will check it each morning using the device provided with the implant equipment. However, because you cannot listen through this device, you will say the Ling Six Sounds to your child and observe his responses. If there is any change, you will want to phone your audiologist immediately.

A) LISTENINGChange the distance to improve sound recognition.



Distance Makes a DifferenceWhen you see that your preschooler is not as responsive as usual, you need to take that extra time to get closer to him in order toattract his attention and speak directly to him. Your Role as Parents in Lesson Two gives helpful ideas that you might want toreview before continuing with this lesson.

Why do you want to think about the distance between you and your child while you are talking to him? Each time you half thedistance between you and your preschooler, your voice becomes 6 dB louder. What does that mean? The average voice at adistance of six feet is approximately 65 dB. If you are three feet from your little one, your voice will be 71 dB. At a foot and a half,your voice is much louder. Naturally, as we come closer to each other, we soften our voice. In other words, the loudness level youuse at six feet from your child isn’t the same level you would use at one‑and‑a‑half feet. But by keeping your voice at acomfortable level and talking directly to your child, you will greatly help him hear your words. Be sure to do a deep‑knee bend soyou are at his level, too. What a difference “distance” makes for your child!

While you are at your child’s ear and eye level, take a minute to observe his social eye contact. Does he look at you while you aretalking? As hearing adults, we naturally make eye contact when we respond to another person’s voice. Encourage your child to dothe same when you speak to him. He may get some information about the spoken message by watching your facial expressions. Keep talking whether he is looking at you or not. He can still be listening. Comment on what he is doing, thinking or trying tocommunicate to you. Remember, it isn’t necessary for him to maintain eye contact or for him to repeat everything you say. Whatyou are doing is reinforcing the idea of give‑and‑take (speaking and listening) in conversation, and you are making casual (butmeaningful) conversation a natural part of daily life.

This is why we asked you to spend a few minutes listening to the sounds in your environment. The hum of the furnace. Thechiming of the clock. The rumble of the dryer. The clanking of pots and pans. The “buzz” of conversations. The bark of yourdog. THESE are the sounds of home. THESE are the sounds you want your child to be aware of, but they are also the sounds thatcan make it more difficult for him to hear your voice and so to listen to your conversation.

By now you have done the Ling Six‑Sound Test with your child, and you have plotted his aided hearing levels on the FrequencySpectrum of Familiar Sounds from Lesson One. If it’s in your notebook, turn to it now for easy reference as you continue reading. What speech sounds does he hear? More importantly, what speech sounds does he not hear? Even with the very best hearing aids,some children cannot hear enough speech to develop spoken language skills easily. The information you have now on theFrequency Spectrum of Familiar Sounds will guide your efforts in working with your preschooler in meeting his needs.

Listening EnvironmentWhether your little one wears hearing aids or a cochlear implant, you want to be very aware of the “listening environment” thatsurrounds him. Remember, even with appropriate amplification, sounds that are comfortable to you may be soft to yourpreschooler. And since he is busy running and playing, he is not always focused on listening for sounds, especially a soft sound,such as your voice from a distance. So it is very important that you are aware of background noise from the TV, radio or othervoices.

If you are at home right now, take a minute to listen to the sounds around you. Do you hear the hum of the air conditioner orheater? The refrigerator also makes a humming sound, as does your computer. Is the TV on? Are you playing music? What aboutstreet noise? You can’t stop or even quiet all of these sounds, but you can be aware of the difference in your child’s response toyour voice when they are present.

Distance Makes a Difference

Does Your Child Hear Voice?



Now is the time to seriously consider your little one’s amplification needs. Your audiologist will know about amplification options,so ask questions. Possibly a cochlear implant would benefit your child. An FM system might give just a bit more power. Digitalhearing aids can provide more clarity of sound. This is the time to ask about anything and everything that might help your child. Don’t wait! These are the important years for learning to listen and for learning language.

Developing Listening SkillsAfter your child has his hearing aids or cochlear implant, he needs to learn to become aware of sounds. He can learn to recognizesounds and know their meaning. This is auditory learning. It is learning to become aware of sounds, to recognize sounds and toattach meaning to them. Your child’s response to sound can improve, even though his hearing levels will not change. How canyou begin to help your little one develop his listening skills? You begin by teaching him that sounds exist.

Sound DetectionThe first level in developing an awareness of sound is referred to as sound detection. Your child may not understand theimportance or meaning of sounds until you point them out to him. You must draw your child’s attention to sounds around you andhelp him notice them. Guide him in learning appropriate responses.

Along with the LISTENING games included in our lessons to help you with this task, there are many spontaneous situations that youcan use in teaching your preschooler. For example, a plane going overhead or a train rumbling by can be brought to his attention. A neighbor calling across the yard is another unexpected sound you can help your child learn to recognize.

Develop the habit of calling your child’s attention to sounds and, when possible, show him what or who makes the sound. If youcan, repeat the sound. Finally, respond appropriately. For example, you might get down to your preschooler’s level, point to yourear and say, “I hear that! It’s Mrs. Simon. She wants to talk to us. Let’s go see her.” After bringing his attention to the sound of atrain or bus, you might say, “It’s going bye‑bye” and wave to the people on board.

Be aware that even after pointing out the same sound to your child several times, he may not yet pay attention to it or recognize itwithout your help. Each time you point out a sound, show your enthusiasm about hearing it. SMILE! Listening is fun!

The less hearing your child has, the longer it will take. It will take time and patience. Remember, this may be a hard job for him. Sounds that are quite loud and obvious to you are much, much softer for him. Auditory learning is a process. So, helping yourlittle one to learn to listen may also be a hard job for you. But, it is worth every effort and every minute you take as you show yourlittle one the sounds in his world. (In time and with practice, your child may begin to show you he hears sound, too!)

We mentioned conversational sounds as among those you want to bring to your little one’s attention. Don’t forget the part heplays in the family’s interactions. Remember to bring his attention to the sounds of his voice by telling him, “I hear you! You wantto play with your school bus.” In other words, you want him to be aware of his own voice. When he can hear his own voice, youshould begin to notice an increase in vocalizations.

DiscriminationAfter your preschooler has become aware that sound exists, he must understand that a variety of sounds occur simultaneously andthat the sounds are different. He might be listening to music and suddenly realize that another sound exists—people are talking. Or he might be listening to his mother talking, and suddenly he hears the doorbell ring. He might not understand the meaning ofthese sounds, but he does know that they are different.

You can help your child develop his skills in discrimination by introducing new sounds. For example, you might ask him todiscriminate between the sound of the doorbell and someone’s voice by vocalizing and pointing to the sound he hears. See if yourchild can tell the difference between sounds for which he cannot see the sound source.



Another example of discrimination is the difference between voices. Your child can learn the difference between Mommy’s high‑pitched voice and Daddy’s deep voice. You might make a little game by asking your child to tell you who is calling him. Is itMommy or Daddy?

Remember that discrimination takes time and practice. It is not always easy for a little child with a hearing loss to learn thedifference between sounds, especially the sounds of speech.

Some Suggestions and EnhancementsAcoustic enhancements are small changes we make in our voices during conversation as we vary duration, intensity and pitch(suprasegmental characteristics). This enables young children to better understand what is being said.All parents naturally talk to their children using a “sing‑song” voice, and this is one of the first acoustic enhancements which helpall little ones develop listening and language skills.

By speaking at a distance of six inches from your child’s hearing aid or cochlear implant, you facilitate his listening abilities. Youcan also whisper close to the microphone of his aids or implant. This is also an acoustic enhancement. Even though we mightthink that using a loud voice will enable a child to hear better, this is not true. When we increase the volume of our voices, we onlymake the vowels louder. Since consonants carry meaning in speech, words are then completely distorted.

You can also sit your child on your lap and talk about a story or a toy. Being close to his hearing aids or cochlear implant willincrease his ability to hear your voice, so try to move back a bit and determine at which distance your little one hears easily and atwhich distance he experiences more difficulty.

It is easy to repeat words when your child does not understand, and many children develop the habit of asking for repetitionbecause it’s easier to ask than to focus on what is being said. Gradually your little one will become accustomed to focusing themoment he hears speech, so that he understands what you are saying the first time. This will be helpful when he is in school orplaying with friends.

You can also help your child by giving him options and alternatives. If you notice that he didn’t completely understand themessage or that he only understood part of it, you can add information just by saying a few more words. In this way he will moreeasily understand the content of what you are saying.

When your preschooler understands a few words but is still unsure of what you said, you can reinforce his understanding by addingwords or phrases which confirm that he correctly understood the message.

Auditory closure can also help your child develop his listening and expressive language skills. If you are counting, try beginningwith “one, two....” and then stop and wait for him to say “three.” Try this with songs or phrases that he knows so that he developsthe ability to complete what is being said by using his logic.

If your little one cannot easily hear your voice with amplification and uses lip reading to understand you, you can use your voicefirst, and then provide an opportunity for your child to see your face to clarify what you are saying.

The more auditory abilities your child develops, the fewer acoustic enhancements he will need to develop listening and spokenlanguage skills. However, it is good to remember these enhancement ideas when you are in noisy places where he will have moredifficulty hearing.

B) LANGUAGEDescribe your actions when your child is watching you.



RecognitionWhen your child associates a sound or word with an object or action, he has moved to the next level of auditory processing,recognition. You are spending time associating specific toys, actions and activities with specific speech sounds. For example, eachtime something spills or falls over, you say “uh oh!” Eventually, you can say this phrase and your child may imitate you, and lookfor something that has spilled. Your child may babble and point to the family cat when someone says, “meow.” Or, he might belistening to Mom’s voice and suddenly hears his little sister crying. He looks at his sister or attempts to say her name. He not onlyunderstands that sounds are different: he recognizes the differences and associates the sounds with something specific. This is abig accomplishment!

You can help your preschooler recognize differences in sounds by talking to him about them. When he looks at his sister, youmight say, “Sister is crying. Let’s hold her.” Or, when the cat enters the room, you can say, “Here’s the kitty. Hi, Whiskers. Meow. Whiskers says, ‘Meow.’” As you show your child all the sounds in his world, he will begin to recognize them and start imitatingthem himself.

At the beginning of this lesson, we emphasized how learning to listen is a process. It’s a big job for a little child. Guiding himthrough the process is a big job for parents. When you and your preschooler reach this final level, however, you will know the timeand effort was worthwhile.

ComprehensionYour child now comprehends the meaning of a sound! He can respond with the appropriate language or act on what he has heardcorrectly. For example, your child might be listening to your voice. Suddenly he hears his sister crying and he says her name,immediately handing her a toy or her pacifier. He has recognized the sound of his sister’s cry, and knows what it means—shewants something.

It will be helpful to condense all this information into one example of how you can help your little one develop all of these veryimportant skills. The best way is by showing him the many sounds in your home. After all, this is where he spends most of histime, and so this is the best place for him to begin to learn. Let’s focus on one room; for example, the kitchen. Much of yourfamily’s life is centered around the kitchen: meals are prepared and served. Then comes clean‑up time. In between meals, yourchild might want a drink of water or a snack, and that means returning to the kitchen.

Since you are often in the kitchen and your child probably watches you as you work, you have the perfect opportunity to teach himabout sounds and provide the language that will help him understand them and then respond appropriately. Here are some ideas:Preparing meals: Your pour, chop, open, stir, etc. For every task there is a sound and language to describe it. You can tell yourpreschooler, “Here’s an egg. Crack! I hear that. Daddy cracked the egg.” During your mealtime preparation, there will be manychances to draw his attention to sounds.

During meals: You pour, scoop, slice and stir. And, of course, there’s lots of family conversation! So many sounds to bring toyour child’s attention. “Plop, plop! I’m pouring milk” or “Clink, clink. I hear Daddy stirring his coffee.”

After meals: The dishes are cleared and placed into the sink or the dishwasher. You turn on the water or push a button on thedishwasher. Tell your child, “Listen. The water is running” or “The dishwasher is on. Do you hear it?” Take him to the sink and lethim listen to the sound. Ask him, “What is that? See, there are dishes in there!” It will take a few times, but soon your little one willbe telling you that he hears the water and associates the sound with something meaningful.

We all learn language by experience, so give your child lots of auditory experiences each day. Fill all experiences with spokenlanguage as you talk, talk, talk. Your child will hear the same words over and over again while you talk about the stove and hot



food, or the running water in the sink with the dishes. In time, he will begin to associate these words with the food and events inthe kitchen. With that understanding will come the expressive language to talk about what he now understands. Remember,understanding comes before spontaneous expression!

Why don’t you take a minute now to think of one room in your home and listen for all the sounds in that room? Then, plan whichsounds you will show your child and what language you will use. Remember to tell him the meaning of the sound, what ishappening and why.

C) SPEECHIf you have chosen spoken language for your child, you will want his hearing aids or cochlear implant to provide him with theability to hear all sounds of human speech. Even if your child has a severe‑to‑profound hearing loss and wears appropriate hearingaids, he can learn to recognize differences between speech sounds. He should learn to listen to all vowels and consonants.

As you will recall from Lesson One, much of the meaning of spoken language is carried through rhythm and intonation of ourspeech. This includes characteristics such as pitch (how high or low a sound is), intensity (how loud or soft a sound is), andduration (the length of the sound). These features of speech, such as the duration, intensity and pitch, can be detected andrecognized by almost all children with a hearing loss, even children with profound losses, who are using hearing aids.

Listening to speech patterns will not only aid your child in understanding others, but will be reflected in the quality of his ownspeech. Let’s look at some ways you can help your little one listen and begin to recognize and use these patterns in his ownspeech. Singing nursery rhymes or other songs of your culture or traditions with your child will give you both a delightful opportunity to beclose and to share some special time together. Do not be concerned that your child does not understand the words of the nurseryrhyme or song—children love them not for the words (which most children do not understand) but for their strong, rhythmicpatterns. Here is a traditional English rhyme that you might enjoy together:

Jack be nimble,Jack be quick,Jack jump overThe candlestick.

Or you might have fun with this simple finger game:Open, shut themOpen, shut themGive a little clap.Open, shut themOpen, shut themPut them in your lap.Clap, clap, clap your handsAs slowly as you can.Clap, clap, clap your handsAs quickly as you can.(Instead of “clap” you can substitute, roll, rub, wiggle your fingers, or even pound your fists.)

An all‑time favorite for preschoolers:The eentsy, weentsy spiderWent up the waterspout. Down came the rain, and



Washed the spider out.Out came the sun, andDried up all the rain.And the eentsy, weentsy spider,Went up the spout again.

What songs and rhymes are traditional favorites in your culture or country? Enjoy these with your child. When you read or sing toyour child, make it a pleasant time for both of you. Encourage him to listen and take a turn singing along or pretending to read. Use gestures and props! Be patient! Be enthusiastic! Have fun!

Some Final ThoughtsYour child can learn to listen. At the beginning, a major step in listening development will be when your little one smiles or giveshis attention when you speak or sing to him. He will begin to show his awareness of sounds, and he will enjoy using his ownvoice. In addition to playing with his voice, he is likely to enjoy producing his own sounds as he bangs pots and pans together orhits blocks against each other.

What are some other signs that will show you your child’s listening skills are developing? He may attempt to locate the source ofthe sound he hears. He may begin to vocalize when spoken to and to turn when called from a short distance. He will begin torecognize and respond to familiar sounds that have meaning for him. He may even respond to a “No” by stopping an activity.

With more and more listening practice, your preschooler’s attention span will grow, so that he pays attention for several momentswhen you are speaking to him. He may look from one speaker to another when more than one person is present. He may turnwhen called from more than three feet away.

Be assured that your little child will become more aware of sounds, and with time he will take additional steps in the listeningprocess: He will let you know if his hearing aid or cochlear implant is not working properly. As his understanding builds alongwith his listening ability, he will recognize the intonation patterns of questions. He may begin to understand and follow simpledirections, such as “Come here,” “Get your coat” and “Open the door.” He will learn to discriminate between words he knows whichsound very different, such as “shoe” and “ball.” And he will learn to expand that ability so he can tell the difference betweenphrases and sentences which have key words he knows: “Get your shoe” or “Throw the ball.” If you have made the decision foryour child to develop his auditory perception, he will become aware of these phrases without the necessity of looking at you.

As your youngster advances in his understanding of language and with consistent auditory learning, he will learn to discriminatebetween words where the first and last consonants are the same, but the vowel sounds are different, such as “cup” and “cap.” Orhe will be able to tell the difference between words in which the vowel is the same but the beginning consonant is different, as in“house” and “mouse.” He will also learn to discriminate between similar phrases or sentences, such as “A little red car” and “A big,blue truck.” And, he will understand the small but important differences in words within a sentence, such as “in” and “on,” or “the”and “a.” Eventually he will understand and be able to repeat whole sentences of three to five words. Even if your child seems farfrom this level now, keep talking, talking, talking. Show him the sounds in his world and be enthusiastic. You will be surprisedhow quickly he begins to show you the sounds he hears.

Experience BooksEach day you talk to your preschooler about activities in your family life. He is beginning to develop some language, but his abilityto anticipate and to express himself as he participates in them may still be limited. Preschoolers need to understand family life sothat they have a sense of what is going to happen to them. If the family is going on a vacation or just to the market, your childneeds to know why he is being taken away from his toys and put in the car. He also needs to understand the meaning of abirthday party or the special events and celebrations that occur in your family. You can help your child understand and learn the



language of everyday life by making your own experience books.Experience books are based on an experience your child will have or an experience which he has had. They are made for a specificpurpose, such as preparing your child for an event. This might include a new baby, going to school, or going on a vacation. Also,an experience book might teach behavior or a routine, such as toilet training or sitting at the table until your child’s meal isfinished. Another use of experience books could be special moments. Holidays and birthday parties make wonderful little booksfor your child. Experience books can also be a visual aid for teaching language. You can make a book about people in the family,going to the grocery store or a book about feelings. Take a minute to think about the people and events that are most important and familiar to your preschooler. His family, extendedfamily and friends come first. Also important are the routines of his life such as getting dressed, visiting grandpa, or going to themarket or to the doctor. By making a small booklet about these people and experiences, you can help your child learn importantlanguage and understand what is happening in his world. And, your child will love the opportunity to see photographs, drawingsor objects that include him and the people that are part of his life.

The first experience book you might want to make will be of family and friends. To begin, take a photograph or draw a picture ofeach member of your immediate family. This will include Mom, Dad, brothers and sisters, and the family pets. You can purchase asmall photo album or staple sheets of paper together to make a small book. (If you use staples, be sure to cover the ends withtape so they won’t hurt little fingers). It is important that this book be small enough for your child to hold easily and to turn thepages.Insert or paste each photograph on a page and write the name of the person below it. Now it’s time to talk to your child. “Who isthis? Is this Mommy? Yes, this is Mommy!” Point to yourself and hold the photograph beside your face. “See, this is Mommy.”Now look at the picture of Daddy. “Who is this? Is this Daddy? Where is Daddy now? Can you find him?” Let your child take thebook and look for Daddy. “Yes, this is Daddy! You found him.” After your child is able to recognize his immediate family, expandyour experience book to include relatives, neighbors and friends.

Your next experience book might be about errands you and your child frequently run together. Again, you will want a smallscrapbook or a book you make with three‑holed thick paper and rings or ribbon to hold the pages together. Begin this book with apicture of your house. You can draw it or use an actual photograph. This is where you start when going on any errand. Then drawa picture of the family car if this is the transportation you use. You can also use a photograph or even cut a picture out of amagazine if that is easier. Now you will use a picture or object that represents the errand itself. If you are going to the post office,you might want to use an envelope and a stamp. You can use one from mail you have received at home! If your destination is thecleaners, use a picture of clothing that you cut from a magazine. Sketch the front of your destination, too.Now it’s time to make the book. The first page will be the picture of your home. Then comes the picture of your car. Next is theillustration for the type of errand and finally the one of your destination. Each time you run that errand, show your preschooler hisexperience book first. Talk to him about what you are going to do. “We are going to the market. See, first we leave the house. Next we get in the car. We’re going to buy groceries. And here is the market. Then we will go back home in our car. Let’s go tothe store!”

Let your child hold the book as you begin your errand. When you arrive at your destination, ask him, “Where are we? What are wegoing to do?” Then look at the book with him and at the object or picture you have which represents your errand. “We need milk,bread and apples. We are at the market.”

A vacation or weekend trip is the perfect opportunity to make an experience book. You can use this book to prepare your child forthe trip; to talk about your trip while you are there; and to talk about what you did after returning home. As always, begin thebook with a picture of your home since this is where your experience begins. Then use a picture of your type of transportation. Next might come a picture of the people you will see, such as Grandma and Grandpa. Possibly you have a photo of their home alsothat you can show your child. Paste each picture on a page of his experience book. Now you are ready to prepare your little fellowfor the trip. “We’re going on vacation. We’re going to fly in an airplane. Who will we see? Yes, this is Grandma and Grandpa. Here is their house. We’re going to stay there and then go on the airplane again. See the airplane? We will fly on the plane and



come home.” You will use this book several times before the trip. Your child now has an understanding of this big event in hislife. Remember to take this book with you!

While you are at Grandma and Grandpa’s house, take a minute to look at the experience book again. Talk about leaving your ownhome, going on the airplane and where you are now. If you brought a few pages to add to his book, you might paste on the ticketfrom your flight or the luggage tag from his suitcase. Now he can show his book to Grandma and Grandpa. And remember thatyou can model how to talk to your child when you are with family or friends.

While you are on vacation you will want to take photographs or collect small objects to add to his experience book. Complete thebook when you return home. Now it’s your child’s turn to look at the pictures and tell you what happened. Help him with thelanguage he needs and praise him for his efforts to tell you about his trip.

As you continue to make these books, you might want to write a short sentence on each page to explain the picture or object. Forexample, you are going to take the cat to the vet for a check‑up. Tell your child that you are going to take the cat to the vet andthat he is going to help you make a book about it. He might not understand, but as you progress in making the book together, theidea will become clear. You can even draw a stick figure of your cat and tell your child, “This is the cat.” He will immediatelyunderstand. Under this picture, write the name of the cat. This is one way to introduce your preschooler to print. He knows thatwhat you have written is the name of the cat.

On the next page you might draw a stick figure of your child holding the cat and the vet standing by you. Again, you will want toexplain your drawing. “This is you. You are holding Toby. The vet will take Toby.” Under the picture, write something like “Tobygoes to the vet.”

Page three might be a drawing of a table with the vet and the cat. Again, keep the picture simple with only a short sentence writtenunder it.

When the book is finished, it’s time to take the cat to the vet. And, most important, be sure to bring the book so you and yourchild can look at the pictures again as you talk about the experience. Afterwards, he can use it to show relatives and friends.

Take a few minutes to think about experience books you will want to make. Your subjects might include: Going to School, TimeOut, Summer Vacation, A Trip to the Zoo and A Birthday Party. Each experience book contains a story about your child’s life. Youwill want to make many of them; enjoy them often with your child; and keep them on a bookshelf that he can reach. Then, onoccasion, ask your child which book he would like to look at with you. If he is easily able to hear your voice with amplification, useaudition alone so that he develops his listening skills.

VIDEO CLIP & IDEAS FOR EXTRA LEARNINGView brief video clip celebrating the progress of JTC preschooler enjoying singing together with a parent.



Find and sort objects by sound, size and shape.

View a video clip from an individual speech language session involving conversing in routines.

LISTENING: Auditory Hide and SeekPurpose of the GameTo help your child learn to respond to and locate the sound of your voice

What to Do:1. Hide behind a chair or large piece of furniture in a room while your child covers his eyes. When he uncovers his eyes, call hisname from your hiding place. Continue to call until he finds you.

To make it more fun, give your child a chance to hide. Sometimes this is the simplest way to teach the game to a child, andprovides encouragement for your child to use his voice.

Don’t miss the opportunity to provide appropriate language: “Where’s Mommy?” “No peeking!” “You found Mommy.”



“She was behind the chair.” “She was next to the sofa.” “Daddy was hiding in the corner.” “Now you hide.”

2. You can also hide other people in the family and listen for the sounds of their voices.

Variation:Hide a radio or CD player (set loudly at first) and together with your child, search for the source of the sound. Once he is familiarwith the idea of the game, lower the volume to make it a little more challenging. Your enthusiasm for the game is important!

Language: Learning about Big and LittlePurpose of the Game:To expose your child to the language and concepts of “big” and “little”

What You Need:Two very different sizes of shoes, sandals, slippers, etc. (You can use your shoes and your child’s shoes, for example.)

When to Play:Whenever your child is interested

What to Do:1. Sit on the floor next to your child, and put all the shoes –big and little– in a box and mix them up.

2. Tell him that you are going to play with shoes. Explain that some are big and some are small. Speak naturally and do not onlyfocus on big and small, but talk about other subjects that relate to shoes. Select a big shoe from the box and say something suchas, “It’s a big shoe. Let’s put the big shoe here.” Place the shoe on the floor on one side of the box.

3. Take a small shoe out of the box and place it on the other side of the box, talking again to your child about the shoe as youhold it. You might say, “Here’s a little shoe. Put the little shoe here.” Take another small shoe and ask, “What is this?” Encourageyour child to use his known expressive language and answer your questions.

4. Let your child select any shoe from the box. Say something about whatever size shoe he holds up, such as “Oh, you found abig one” or “That’s a little shoe!” Help your child place the shoe in the correct pile, and continue talking about the size.

5. Continue sorting until all the shoes have been put into the appropriate piles of “BIG” and “LITTLE.”

6. End the game with comments like:

“All done” as you show him the empty box. Gesture toward one pile of shoes and say, “Here are the big shoes.” Follow with, “Andhere are the little shoes. Let’s put the shoes away.” Together put the shoes back into the box. Make appropriate comments as youdo so:

“That’s a little shoe.” “Here’s a big shoe.” “You put the big shoe in the box.” “All done! Good job!”



7. It is very important that he transfers these concepts to daily life so that this vocabulary is used spontaneously. Think for aminute about situations or activities during the day when you can use this vocabulary in a natural and significant manner with yourchild.

Variations:1. Mix up the shoes in the box, as in the basic game described above. As you and your child take out each shoe, try putting iton. Since your shoes will always be too big for your child, and his shoes will always be too little for you, you will have many naturalopportunities to point out differences in size and to provide appropriate language.

2. Read the story “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” to your child, pointing out and talking about what is big and little in thepictures.

3. Let your child help while you are baking a cake. Save a small amount of batter and help him make a little cake as well. Ormake big and little cookies. Let your child decorate them.

If Your Child Is Ready: Advanced Language and Skills1. When your child seems to understand the concept of big and little, introduce the concept of big, bigger and biggest. Youmight do this using different sized shoes as in the basic game described above.

If your child is ready, you can also begin to expose your child to the words “big” and “little” in print. You might print the words onseparate cards and place them on the floor to go along with your “big” and “little” shoes game.

SPEECH: Singing TogetherPurpose of the Game: The carryover of speech sounds into meaningful language

What You Need: Something to use as a “microphone” (a spoon, a sponge ball on a stick, or even your fist).

What to Do:

1. Sit next to your child on the floor, on a couch or at a table. Hold the “microphone” near your face. Sing the beginning of “OldMacDonald Had a Farm, Ee‑I–Ee‑I–O.” Hand the “microphone” to your child and encourage him to vocalize. Smile and show himthat you are pleased if he does so.

2. Take the “microphone” back and repeat the vowel sound, “Ee–I–Ee–I–O” again, even if your child makes no response. Then givehim another turn with the “microphone.”

3. At first, accept and reinforce any sound your child makes, as long as the voice quality is good. When your child is able to givea consistent response, you can model a pattern for him to imitate. If you say, “Ee‑I,” encourage him to respond with two sounds. If you say, “Ee‑I‑Ee‑I” you will expect four sounds. You may help him by lightly tapping the right number of syllables on his arm asyou speak.

4. Sing and then stop and encourage your child to continue without you. Is he able to follow the tune and rhythm?

Variations:



1. Another song you can sing is “Bingo.” Begin the song with:

There was a farmer who had a dogAnd Bingo was his name‑o!B‑I‑N‑G‑OB‑I‑N‑G‑OB‑I‑N‑G‑OAnd Bingo was his name‑o!Now repeat the song and when you spell the name, replace the first letter with a clap:Clap‑I‑N‑G‑OClap‑I‑N‑G‑OClap‑I‑N‑G‑OAnd Bingo was his name‑o!

Again repeat the song and when you spell the name, replace the first two letters with a clap. Encourage your child to vocalize,even if he cannot pronounce the speech sounds. Continue replacing sounds until finally you clap rhythmically 15 times in a rowand sing the final line with gusto!

AN EVERYDAY ACTIVITY: Sorting LaundryPurpose of the Activity:To provide an opportunity for your child to learn language while being your helper

What You Need:Laundry to be sorted and folded

What to Do:1. Sit next to your child, with the clothes to be sorted in front of you. Take a minute to think about the kinds of things you willbe able to talk about with each article of clothing: names of the clothing, colors, sizes, textures, designs, and to whom each pieceof clothing belongs.

2. Take one piece of clothing out of the basket or pile in front of you. Say something about it. You might say:

“Here’s a shirt. What is it? It’s a shirt.”“What do you have? Is it a shirt?”“Let’s fold the shirt.”

3. Adjust the language to your child’s level. If he is learning the names of colors, talk about the colors of the clothing:

“What color is the shirt?”“Give me the blue shirt.”“Where is the red shirt?”

4. If your child is learning to count, you can take the opportunity during laundry sorting to count things. You might say:

“We have two socks.”“How many buttons?”“Count the buttons.”



5. Continue talking naturally, saying something about each piece of clothing as you sort and fold it. Ask questions and commenton whatever your child says. Keep the conversation flowing. Putting away the laundry after it is sorted and folded will help toreinforce the language you have used.

6. Each time you have an opportunity, remember to integrate this activity into real‑life situations. If your child is able to hearmost speech sounds, use audition only to help develop his auditory perception.

Variations1. Sorting laundry can be an opportunity for your child to match things. Pick up one sock in a pair and see if your child can findthe other. Talk about the socks being the same.

2. Use names of articles of clothing while dressing and undressing your child or a doll. These words can be used while looking atmagazines, books or catalogs and while shopping. If you are emphasizing the name of one particular article of clothing, look foropportunities to use it during the day:

“Your shirt is dirty.”“Let’s find another shirt.”“Do you want the red shirt or the blue shirt?”“You tore your shirt.”

If Your Child Is Ready: Advanced Language and Skills1. When your child is beginning to recognize and understand the names of some articles of clothing, you can give him a chanceto use his understanding. For example, if he understands the word “shirt,” ask him to hand you one. You can say, “Give me ashirt,” and then pause, providing an opportunity for your child to demonstrate that he knows what you want. If he hands you ashirt, reinforce his understanding of the language by saying, “Yes, that’s a shirt. Good listening!”

2. Let your preschooler have a turn telling you which article of clothing to fold. After folding a piece of laundry, ask, “What shall Ifold? Give Daddy a shirt.”If he doesn’t understand what you want, repeat the phrase or use a similar one such as “I need a shirt.” Then help him find a shirtand try again.

3. When your child clearly understands the word “shirt,” you can gradually introduce concepts such as: “T‑shirt,” “sweatshirt,”“dress shirt.” Try to use audition instead of letting your child look at your face if he is able to hear the sounds of speech.

PLAYTIME ACTIVITY: PuzzlesPurpose of the Activity: To provide an opportunity for your child to learn about sizes and shapes

What You Need:Single‑piece puzzles (Each puzzle piece should represent a single object. Puzzles made of wood or sturdy material are best.)

What to Do:1. Sit next to your child. Take the pieces out of the puzzle and put them in front of you. Put the puzzle board in front of yourchild. Take one puzzle piece, pause a moment and say something such as:



“Here’s an apple.”“Put the apple in.”“Where does the apple go?”

2. Your child may need some assistance in placing the piece into the correct place so it will fit. Help him, and talk to him. Youmight say:

“Do you want some help?”“I’ll help you.”“Turn it.”“The apple goes here.”“Push.”

3. After the piece is in the puzzle, praise your child and reinforce the language you have used. You can say:

“You put the apple in.”“Good job!”

4. The puzzle you are using will determine other kinds of things to do, for example: Animal puzzles are good for vocal play using animal sounds: roar for the lion, bow‑wow for the dog, quack for the duck, meow forthe cat. You may find your child trying to imitate your sounds, but do not force him to do so.

Transportation puzzles provide an opportunity for vocal play using sounds made by different vehicles. As you did in Lesson One’sSPEECH game, you can use, “Choo‑choo” for the train and “Vroom vroom” for the car.

An ideal follow‑up to fruit puzzles is making a fruit salad. Have a little conversation:

“Where is the apple?”“What shall we put in next?”“What shall we do with the banana?”

Variations:1. Vary the game by varying the puzzles. Whenever possible, choose puzzles containing things that are familiar and of interestto your child. A puzzle with a lion, zebra, elephant and tiger is a good preparation or follow‑up for a trip to the zoo. If your childenjoys helping you set the table, use a puzzle duplicating a table setting with plate, cup, fork, knife, etc.

2. Your child can enjoy matching shapes and sizes in other sorting toys such as a sorting box, ball or rack. These toys haveobjects which fit through holes of a matching shape. There are a variety of them available for purchase at many toy stores.

If Your Child Is Ready: Advanced Language and SkillsAfter your child has had many successful experiences using single‑piece puzzles, you can try more advanced puzzles whichrequire two or more pieces to complete the picture or shape. Remember to talk naturally throughout the activity.

E) SUMMARY

Be on your child’s level when you talk to him.

Point out sounds to your preschooler—even very soft sounds.

Use your everyday activities to teach your preschooler listening, speech and language skills.



Sing and enjoy nursery rhymes together every day.


Everyday Sounds

Early Listening Questionnaire

Go to the Next LessonYES! You have completed reading Lesson 3: Sound Recognition. Now try some ideas with your child. Consider sharing questionsand successes using the yellow box on any page. Your changing concerns and your child’s increasing skills will be saved in“reports I’ve sent.” You can use these forms to show service providers or family and celebrate progress together. Then proceed toLesson 4: Meaningful Interactions so this course becomes an individualized guide or go back to the Preschool Course content toselect another module.


Lesson 4: Meaningful InteractionsA) LISTENINGIf you are working with your child on developing spoken language, you naturally want to know that she will speak clearly and beunderstood by others. In each lesson we emphasize the need to check your little one’s hearing aids or cochlear implant. In orderto learn to speak well, your child must be able to hear as much as possible. Your child also needs good audiologic evaluations andconsistent follow‑up. You will then always be sure that she is able to hear and respond to speech as well as possible. This is thebasis of your child’s spoken language skills.

Your child also needs follow‑up with her physician to check for ear wax or middle ear fluid. Wax can cause a significant decreasein hearing levels, especially in the low frequencies. Ear canals create wax to push out foreign objects, so it is natural that there willbe more wax in an ear canal with an ear mold. If your child easily develops wax, you will want to have her ear specialist wash it outfrequently.

Middle ear fluid or infections not only cause a drop in hearing levels, but also can cause your little one to be uncomfortablewearing hearing aids. Your ear specialist must treat middle ear infections very aggressively so that your child’s hearing levelsremain as stable as possible. If your child has an ear infection, you might find that her speech becomes “mushy” or that she beginsto leave off the beginnings and endings of words.It’s time to pull out your notebook again. Take a look at your preschooler’s last audiogram. Was it done more than six monthsago? If so, give your audiologist a call to set up an appointment.

Now look back at your Frequency Spectrum of Familiar Sounds. You have plotted your little one’s unaided and aided hearing levels,and now you need to look carefully at the speech sounds that she is able to hear. These speech sounds are only an approximationof their exact loudness levels, so you are just using them as a guide.

With amplification, is your child responding to sound at least at 50 dB in low, mid and high frequencies? If so, she will be wellaware of voice sounds. She will also be able to hear her own voice, so you might find that she begins to make sounds as soon asher amplification is turned on. Depending on her hearing levels, you might find that her spontaneous vocalizations consist oflouder, low‑pitched sounds such as, “aaaah” or “ba‑ba‑ba.” She might babble these sounds repeatedly while she plays.



http://www.jtc.org/parents/ideas-advice-blog-comments/some-common-sounds

http://kandersonaudconsulting.com/uploads/ELF_Questionnaire.pdf




If your youngster is able to hear softer, high‑frequency sounds, you might find that she spontaneously combines sounds using/h/, /sh/ and /p/ along with vowel sounds. She will probably be “jargoning.” This means that she will use inflection as she raisesand lowers her voice in a slight singing manner as she babbles and vocalizes. She might make her voice loud or soft as she playswith sounds. And she will use long and short sounds. If your child is jargoning, it sounds like she is having a conversation usingnonsense words. This is lots of fun for beginning talkers!

B) LANGUAGEAs you talk to your child, she will develop her language skills. Then she will put her speech skills into her language. In otherwords, she must be able to express herself with word approximations first. It doesn’t matter how those words sound, but only thatshe is able to make a sound, which signifies what she wants to express. Then you can work with her to make those sounds intoclear speech.

Books can be your most effective method for informal language and speech teaching. Whether your child is at the beginningstages of word approximations or combining words into phrases or sentences, speech skills can be gained as you “read” together. How do you learn speech and language skills with books? The story of “The Three Bears” might be an example. What do the bearssay? How do they speak? Practice the words first and then try to use a low pitch for Papa Bear, a mid pitch for Mama Bear and ahigh pitch for Baby Bear. Reading and telling stories to your preschooler are excellent activities for informal speech and languagelessons. And it’s fun!

As you listen to your preschooler combine words, you might feel concerned because they are not clear. Think about a particularspeech sound you want your child to learn. It might be /sh/. Several nursery rhymes include the word “sheep.” Put them to gooduse as you enjoy them with your child. This is a great way to practice /sh/!

Think about your child’s interests. Maybe she loves boats. Expand her language, then, to “ship.” Find a book or draw pictures tobe your springboard for using “ship” in a story. A book about a baby sleeping will give you a chance to talk about the baby. “Shhhhh, don’t wake the baby.” Does she understandthis concept? If she does, you can begin to work on speech skills. Repeat the sound. Make it close to her hearing aid or cochlearimplant. No matter how your child makes the sound, praise her for a job well done, for every attempt will bring her closer tosuccess. And be patient. Snuggle up together as you tell the stories to each other. This is a special time for both of you.

Always remember that you are very important in helping your young child develop her speech. Your love and support are assignificant as any help a trained professional can give her. As you expose your child to your good model, you help her understandthat your speech is meaningful and that speech is used for communication. As you first encourage her to play with her voice andthen begin to use it meaningfully, your expectations will continue to help her progress from the earliest foundation you have built.

C) SPEECHBy now, you probably have a SPEECH section in your notebook. Parents’ observations of their children are revealing andimportant. If you haven’t brought your notes about your preschooler’s speech development up to date, now is the time to do so. And it’s such fun to listen to your little one as she experiments in using her voice. Whether she is babbling or jargoning, you willwant to listen carefully. What sounds does she make? Does she combine these sounds? Is her voice loud or soft? Take somenotes and write the date. Next month, take more notes. You might be surprised at the changes you hear.

Development of Speech SoundsMany parents expect their child to imitate every speech sound she is able to hear. However, some sounds are very difficult for asmall child to copy. In fact, children with normal hearing continue to develop their ability to make correct speech sounds up toeight years of age. The vowel sounds come first and your preschooler may be saying all of them now. Consonants for normallyhearing children develop in this order:



Age 3: p, m, h, n, w, bAge 4–5: k, g, d, f, vAge 6: t, n, g, r, lAge 8: s, j, sh, ch

Now it’s time to think about your child’s “hearing age” and the sounds she is able to hear. You considered “hearing age” inprevious lessons. Let’s think about it again. If a child is three years old and has been wearing amplification for one year, herhearing age is one year. One‑year‑old babies generally use a variety of vowel sounds with ease. She should also be babbling withconsonants such as /m/ and /b/. This child should have these sounds, and because she is physically three years old and betterable to control her muscles, she will soon add more and more sounds. If her amplification is appropriate and she can hear mostspeech sounds, she will begin to catch up to her chronological age development in speech.

A child with normal hearing who is learning to talk often needs to repeat her words so that you can understand her. Sometimesonly family members understand a child’s beginning words, or she may make errors in her speech patterns. Your child with ahearing loss will need time to learn to talk, too.Informal Speech Testing

Informal Speech TestingThe work of a teacher or therapist trained to work with children who have a hearing loss is important. However, remember thatyou do the best and most important speech teaching in the world during your natural routine and home activities. If your childdevelops listening, speech and spoken language informally, her need for formal therapy is reduced by a significant amount of time!

You informally teach your little one while you talk and sing to her in your home environment, run errands together, play together,visit Grandma and Grandpa or have play dates with other children. Everything you do with your child gives you an opportunity toprovide her with a small, informal speech lesson. How is this done? Here are some ideas…

Possibly you have stairs in your home and you and your child are walking up them. You can say, “Up, up, up. Let’s go up! Up, upwe go!” Stop about halfway upstairs. This will probably get her attention. Say, “Up, up, up” once again and then add, “Your turn! Up, Up!” Wait to see if she will try to imitate this and practice making speech sounds. Immediately respond with action—climbingup the stairs.You might be cooking dinner in the kitchen and you are ready to peel carrots. Count them together as you take them out of therefrigerator. Let your voice linger over the sounds as you say, “One, twoooo, threeee…”

Singing together is one of the best methods of developing good speech. An all‑time favorite of little children in the United Statesis “Old MacDonald Had a Farm.” This is a great song to sing to and with children who have a hearing loss. It has a wonderfulvariety of sounds. And, of course, for those who are English‑speaking, the “Alphabet Song” will give your preschooler all thesounds of the alphabet. It doesn’t matter if she understands the concept of the alphabet at first. Most children don’t. It’s justplain fun for a youngster to try to produce the rhythm and intonation of the song. This is true whether a child has normal hearingor if the child has a hearing loss. What are some of the favorite songs of preschoolers in your country or culture? These will bejust right to enjoy with your child, too!

How can you help your child increase the speech sounds she is able to make? You can play vocal games with her by imitating thesounds she makes and adding a few new sounds. Remember to keep this time fun so she will associate it with a meaningfulinteraction with you. For example, if your child’s hearing age is one year, you might say, “Ba‑ba‑boo.” Repeat these sounds a fewtimes as she watches you and then listen for her to imitate. Later you might add a new sound: “Ga‑ga‑ga‑goo.” Playing withsounds such as this is fun for a child, so make this a special time. Laugh together and enjoy the sounds you both make!



Voice QualityVoice quality refers to the degree of naturalness in your child’s voice. If she is using her hearing well, her voice quality shouldsound similar to that of any child her age. Listen to your little one carefully and you will soon realize how her voice quality changesin different situations. Most importantly, you will be aware of the effect on her speech when her hearing changes as a result ofcolds, allergies or wax.

Speech QualityIn Lesson One we talked about basic assessment of duration, intensity and pitch. Now we want to give you ideas to help you helpyour preschooler develop these important speech qualities. Before continuing, you might like a quick review. If so, turn back toLesson One.

Here are some ideas for using everyday activities to work with your child on duration, intensity and pitch.

If your child is just beginning to develop spoken language, you will want to use vowel and consonant sounds in association withactions. For example, when you are serving a favorite food like ice cream, you might say, “Mmmmmm. Ice cream.” This “mmmm”sound will be somewhat long (duration), louder than most consonants (intensity) and have a deep, more bass sound (pitch).

Playtime is a great time for working on your child’s skills. Make a list of your preschooler’s favorite toys. Maybe she loves puzzlesor cars and trucks. Stop and think about what sounds might be associated with these toys.

The car might go, “Beep, beep, beep.” Now you have short duration, somewhat loud intensity and higher pitch.

A favorite puzzle might be of an airplane. As you put it together, you can hold a piece and “fly” it into place as you say,“Wheeeeee!” This is the perfect sound to end the activity, too. “All done! It’s an airplane. Wheee!”

If your child is saying words and short phrases, you will model duration, intensity and pitch with the words she knows and uses. Possibly after lunch, your child puts her leftover food in the garbage can. You say to her, “Throw it away.” She responds, “Tohwa.” Now you will repeat your phrase, but stress the duration and pitch. Make the phrase sound a bit musical as you change thepitch. Lengthen the words to stress duration. “Throw it awaaay.” Your little child will probably think this is all one word, andthat’s fine. Right now she needs to know the meaning of this phrase and the sound of it. Later the clarity will develop.

You can also imitate your child’s words and create a “speech feedback loop.” It’s 5:00 PM and your little daughter has beenlooking out the window waiting for Daddy to return from work. As the car comes into the driveway, she might say, “Daddy home.” Your response could be, “Daddy’s home. Daddy’s home.” Emphasize the intonation, make it song‑like and let your voice reflect allthe happiness you both feel as this special person enters the door. Soon your child’s use of this phrase will reflect her developingsense of pitch, duration and intensity.

Whispering (a subskill of intensity)Even if your little one cannot easily hear a whisper, she can learn this skill. When you whisper close to her hearing aid, she will beaware of your voice and the difference in its sound. Show her by your facial expression that you are whispering. Then you can playwhispering games.

Choose a word that she knows and whisper it while sitting in front of her.

You may like to pretend that you are putting a doll or stuffed animal to sleep. Then tell her to whisper a word to you.

It will take lots of practice, but this can be a good game for places like a waiting room or a bus. You can also play it while “baby” is sleeping. (Baby can be asibling or a favorite stuffed animal or doll.)



Rhythm (a subskill of duration)Our speech is based on rhythm. There is a rhythm in the number of syllables in each word and in the way we use words insentences.

It’s easy to teach your preschooler about rhythm in speech. Phrases such as, “I s‑e‑e‑e you,” and “Oh yea‑a‑h?” can beexaggerated a bit while your child learns their rhythm. Think of phrases that you say in a variety of rhythm patterns. Choose oneor two and find opportunities to use them with your child every day.

Of course, singing is the best practice of rhythm. In Lesson Three we talked about nursery rhymes. If your child is a bit older, youmight want to find a few children’s songs that she will enjoy. One song that U.S. preschoolers especially enjoy is “Bingo.” Yourchild can have fun with this one, too!

There was a farmer who had a dog Bingo was his name‑O B‑I‑N‑G‑O B‑I‑N‑G‑O B‑I‑N‑G‑O And Bingo was his name‑O

After your child is having fun singing this song, you can substitute handclaps for the letters in the dog’s name. For example,“clap‑I‑N‑G‑O,” followed the next time with “clap‑clap‑N‑G‑O” and so on until you and your preschooler are clapping five times.

Monitoring Her Own SpeechIt is important for your child eventually to be able to monitor her own speech without relying on corrections. The more practiceshe has using her speech, the more memory she will acquire of how to produce each sound. She does this by remembering howshe hears the sound, and also how she feels it. Gradually her speech will become more automatic and natural, and producingsounds won’t require concentration and thought from her.

Until this happens, you will want to encourage your child. It is important to let her know that you do understand what she hassaid, but that you just don’t understand her speech completely. You can simply be honest and tell her, “I understand. You want anapple.” Say it one more time. “Apple. I want an apple.” Give your preschooler the opportunity to repeat your model of the word orphrase just once. If your child is able to say the word again much better, you will want to respond with lots of praise. However,even if she cannot make the word any clearer, she should still be praised for trying: “That’s a good try! Here’s your apple!”

When you give your child the opportunity to attempt the word just one time, it’s essential to respond with the appropriate responsewords and/or actions immediately. When her efforts to communicate by using her voice are rewarded, she is motivated to keeptrying. Practice is essential, for perfecting speech is a gradual process.

Formal TeachingNot all children with hearing losses need formal speech and language therapy. However, support is needed with early interventionspecialists to provide guidance to the family as they help their child to develop language skills. Children should receiveintervention at birth and this can lead to formal therapy when a child is ready to sit and listen (usually around three years of age). If a child is two years old and does not have the spoken language skills of a hearing two‑year‑old child, speech therapy isnecessary to bring him to his chronological age level.



The games and activities that you are doing with our lessons will help you give your child the foundation she needs for theseformal sessions. Your informal, play‑centered interactions are still important and should continue even after formal therapybegins.Speech sounds must be developed in conjunction with a spoken language system. In other words, your child will need to havesome spontaneous spoken words that she uses during meaningful interactions with others prior to the formal development ofindividual sounds. Be sure your therapist is working on spoken language development at the same time she is developing newspeech sounds.

Formal TherapyWhat can you expect from a therapist? Your child’s therapist needs to have special training on how to develop speech and spokenlanguage with children with a hearing loss. Ask your child’s therapist about her training. While the therapist will encourage yourpreschooler to use her residual hearing, her listening skills, and all the other communication skills that you have been developingwith her informally, this work will be done in a more structured, one‑on‑one setting. In formal therapy sessions, she will beworking on spoken language development at the same time she is developing new speech sounds.

Your child’s therapist will begin with a formal assessment of your child’s language, speech and listening skills. There are someexcellent assessment instruments that have been developed specifically for children who have a hearing loss. Ask your therapistwhich assessments will be administered. Ask her to explain the assessment tool to you. As a vital member of your child’s team,you should be able to observe this process. You should have the chance to make valuable contributions about your child’s currentlevel of functioning.

Following the assessment process, the therapist should develop short‑term and long‑term speech, listening and spoken‑languagegoals and objectives for your child. There are ways to develop each and every speech sound. Your child’s auditory system is thefastest and most efficient way to go about this. There is also a well‑established order for the development of speech sounds forchildren with a hearing loss.

A question that will probably come to mind is, “How do I know if a therapist is right for my child?” As we mentioned, your child’stherapist should have specific, clinical training in working with children who have a hearing loss. The therapist should:

be knowledgeable about hearing aids and cochlear implants.

be knowledgeable about the development of speech and spoken language using audition.

use a wide variety of interesting, child‑centered activities that challenge but do not frustrate your child.

avoid touching or manipulating your child to achieve results.

guide you in correcting your youngster’s speech.

include you and keep you well informed about your preschooler’s sessions and progress.

Progress will be made over time and substantiated through ongoing assessments. Be sure to request copies of all assessments and keep them in yournotebook!

SpeechreadingParents often ask how to teach speechreading to a child who has a hearing loss. There are many situations in which your little onewill naturally watch and develop skills in speechreading. Specific times that she cannot wear amplification might occur when she isswimming or during bath time. If she wears an implant, she will remove it to play on plastic toys where electrostatic discharge(ESD) may be an issue. Or, her amplification might be broken and you cannot obtain a loaner device quickly. Often children haveear infections and cannot wear hearing aids. During these times, your child will rely on speech reading, which means she willwatch and follow the movements of the speaker’s lips as well as watch facial expressions, eyes and any nonverbal clues she has tounderstand a spoken message.



Remember that you can help your child by doing a deep knee‑bend so you are at her height, and repeat words when necessarybecause it is difficult to understand every word when she is only looking at your face. In fact, only 33 percent of speech isunderstandable through speech reading so your child will need all the information you can give her.

Also, it is important to realize that it is difficult for a child to understand changes in conversation when using only speechreadingto understand you. So if you tell her that it’s raining outside and then change the subject to Grandma coming tomorrow to visit,your child might think you are telling her that Grandma is outside in the rain. Take a little extra time to be sure she understands. As she becomes older, she will be able to focus on a conversation for a longer amount of time and have less difficulty following aconversation.Technological advances have helped many children who wear hearing aids to understand speech, and it is important for you togive your child every opportunity to learn by audition. In fact, there will be times when you want to only focus on listeningbecause your little one will learn to listen by practicing a lot. Your child can listen to the sound of the computer or the personoutside or overhearing her sister on the telephone. Natural listening is important. However, learning to understand speech bylooking at your face also plays a role in your child’s communication skills.

VIDEO CLIP & IDEAS FOR EXTRA LEARNINGView brief video clip celebrating the progress of JTC preschooler enjoying vowel fun with a parent.

Teach sequencing through stories and tasks.

View a video clip from an individual speech language session involving identifying objects.



LISTENING: A Conditioned Response to SoundPurpose of the Game: To help your child learn to make a response to sound as she listens and looks, and then through listening alone .

To prepare your child for a hearing evaluation, where she will be asked to make a response to sound.

What You Need: Four or five blocks (or any small object)A boxA helper

What to Do:Be sure to check your child’s hearing aids or cochlear implant before playing this or any game!

1. Say a word or phrase such as “Go” or “Put it in” as your child watches. Have your helper drop a block in the box immediatelyafter voice is produced. Do this two or three times.

2. Then have the helper hold your child’s hand and help her drop the block in the box immediately after you speak.

3. After several times, your child will learn to wait and listen —and then respond herself. If she is very young, it may take a whilefor her to learn to respond. Be patient. Help her when she needs help and praise her when she succeeds.

4. As soon as your child consistently responds while listening and looking, try saying the word or phrase where she cannot seeit. (Don’t move yourself too great a distance from your child, just conceal yourself from her vision.) If she is unable to respondthrough listening alone, go back to listening and looking.

Variations:1. Let your child be the “teacher” and say something while you drop the block in the bucket.

2. Vary the response items. Use checkers, large buttons, or clothespins instead of blocks; a bowl, basket or muffin tin in place ofthe box.

3. Language: There is additional language to use during this game. Here are some examples:



“Listen!” “I heard that.” “Wait. It’s my turn.” “It’s your turn.” “Put it in the box.” “Drop another block.”

If Your Child Is Ready: Advanced Listening Skills1. Spend an afternoon at the park or nearby school. Let your child enjoy going down the slide by herself while you encourageher. Then teach her to sit at the top of the slide and slide down when you say, “Go!”

2. You can also play with blocks, building a tower and knocking it over when you say, “Go!”

3. This activity can also be played with music. You can play the children’s song “Pop Goes the Weasel,” marching while the songis played and then jumping when you hear the word, “Pop!”

LANGUAGE: Where Do Your Toys Go?Purpose of the Game: To introduce the concept of sorting objects (toys) into different classifications To develop your child’s sense of responsibility

What You Need: Your child’s toysPlaces to put the toys

What to Do:1. Get ready by organizing places to put away your child’s toys. You might use containers – boxes, large paper bags, plasticdishpans or crates – or even sections of shelves. Paste or tape pictures of the types of toys on each container or shelf where thetoys will be placed.

Have separate places for balls, blocks, dolls, puzzles, toy animals and toy vehicles. You may start with only two containers for twotypes of toys. As your child catches on to the activity, add additional ones. This activity will provide opportunities for you toreinforce the words your child is specifically learning.

Use several pictures on one container or shelf to show that several types of things will go there. For example, a box which is meantto store different toy vehicles such as cars, trucks and airplanes might have pictures of a car, an airplane and a truck on theoutside.

2. Start by picking up a toy – a car, for example. Say something to identify what it is, such as “Here’s a car.” Point to the pictureof the car on the container and say, “That’s a car.” Hold the toy car next to the picture of the car and say something such as, “It’sthe same. Put the car in.” Help your child put the car into the correct container.

3. Take another car and give it to your child. Say something to her about what you want her to do such as, “Put away the car,” or“Where does the car go?” Pause for a moment to see if she can put it away by herself, then help her find the right container.

4. Pick up another toy, perhaps a book this time, and go through the same process of matching the object to the picture on the



container, and then putting the toy away.

5. Continue talking about each toy every time you and your child do this activity. Your child may quickly catch on to the idea ofputting toys in containers and matching the kind of object to the picture on it, but she still needs a lot of practice to learn thevocabulary that describes these objects. Conversation becomes important now. You might say, “What do you have?” When yourchild tells you, respond with, “You are right! It’s a car! Where does it go?” Will she tell you, “Inside” or “Up here”?

6. If your child has good listening skills, try to do this activity using audition alone as you sit beside her so that she cannot easilysee your face. Do this after she is comfortable with the activity and knows the language you will be using.

Variations:Your child can help you put clean silverware and dishes away. Silverware is especially good for young children–often it is kept insorting containers and the child can see the forks, knives (no sharp knives) and spoons each in their own little section.

If Your Child Is Ready: Advanced Language and Skills1. A more advanced child can learn about paired objects–things that commonly go together–by getting, using or putting themaway. Your child can learn “cup and saucer,” “knife and fork,” and “salt and pepper,” while helping to set the table. During cleanupor bathtime, she can learn “soap and water.” Be sure to keep the conversation going. “What shall we put on the table?” “You’reright, a knife and fork!” “Where are they? Yes, they are in the drawer.”

2. Your child can help you put away household items as you straighten or clean up the house: Daddy’s shoes go in Daddy’sroom, glasses go in the kitchen, a blanket on the bed or couch.

3. Your child can help you put away groceries after a trip to the store: canned goods and boxes on the shelf, cold food in therefrigerator, laundry products in the laundry room, soap and toothpaste in the bathroom.

SPEECH: Telling a StoryPurpose of the Game:To help your child learn how to relate past events; To use voice in telling a story To begin to understand that print with pictures can tell a story

What You Need:A simple scrapbook or notebookPhotographs from your camera, orYour own simple drawing of an experience (stick figures are fine)

What to Do:1. Think of a simple activity you can share with your child. Possibly you will water flowers together or bake cookies.

2. Draw simple pictures to illustrate your activity or have someone take three or four photos. You might have a picture of theflowers, the hose, and the water from the hose on the flowers.

3. Place each picture on one page of your book.

4. Write a brief sentence under each picture. Your child will not be able to read it, but she will understand that your writing hasmeaning.



5. Sit beside your child and talk about each picture.

“Here are the flowers.” “We used the hose.” “We watered the flowers.”

6. Now it’s your child’s turn to tell the story. She does not need to use perfect speech, but she can approximate words and useher own “sentence” associated with the activity.

Variations:Let your child “read” her experience book to someone else. Grandparents, aunts and uncles are often very good listeners. Afterlistening, they can ask questions and have a little conversation about the activity.

“What color are those pretty flowers?” “Where did the water go? Is it in the ground?” “Show me the flowers outside!”

Try to read stories to your little one every day. You can repeat the stories she enjoys, for children like to look at books and videosover and over. It is also useful to establish routines with each book and encourage communication with questions, such as:

“What happened to the piggy? “Who do you think left the house?” “What animal do you think followed him?” “The child is verrrrry lit‑.” Wait for your child to finish the word.

Reading can be a relaxing experience. An hour before bedtime is often a perfect time to read a book, but any time of day canprovide a good shared reading experience.

AN EVERYDAY ACTIVITY: Brushing TeethPurpose of the Activity: To expose your child to language used during brushing her teethTo help her listen to the sound of running water

What You will Need: Your child’s toothbrushA small stool

What to Do:1. Place a small stool in front of your bathroom washbasin so your child can stand on it and be able to turn on the water faucet.

2. Let your child turn the water on and off. Call her attention to the sound of the running water. Talk about the water.

“Let’s turn the water on.” “Listen! The water is running!” “Is the water cold?”



3. Talk to your child while she brushes her teeth.

“Where is your toothbrush?” “Put on the toothpaste. Do you want some help?” “Brush your back teeth.” “Brush the teeth in front.” “OK, rinse your mouth. Where is the cup?”

Variation:Washing hands is another time when water is turned on and off and is hot and cold. Hands can be dirty or clean.

“Let’s wash your hands.” “Where is the soap?” “What will you do next? Dry your hands.” “Where is the towel?”

THINKING ACTIVITY: CookingPurpose of the Activity: To develop sequencing skills To understand cause and effectTo learn new language associated with food preparationTo practice pre‑math skills

What You Need:Ingredients for chocolate milk or pudding

What to Do:If your child is two to three years old:

1. Have a carton of milk and some chocolate on the counter top. Be sure to have a stool so your child can easily reach theingredients.

2. Tell your child, “We are going to make chocolate milk.”

3. Help her pour milk into a plastic cup while you say, “Let’s pour the milk. Good! You are pouring the milk.” Even if your childis not looking at you, she will be aware that you are talking.

4. Help your child put a spoonful of chocolate into the milk while you say, “Let’s put in the chocolate. Now stir the chocolate.”

5. Be sure to tell her what she made. “Look, you made chocolate milk! Is it good? Taste it. Yes, it’s good! It’s good chocolatemilk!”

If your child is three or four years old:1. Gather pictures to demonstrate how to make pudding using either a mixer or a bowl and spoon. You will need a picture of ameasuring cup, a carton of milk, the package of pudding and the mixer. These pictures can be found in magazines, or you candraw them if necessary.



2. Put the pictures in order: measuring cup, milk, mixer and pudding package. Tell your child that she is going to makepudding.

3. Show her the first picture and say, “First we need the measuring cup and the milk.” Help her pour the milk into the cup whileyou talk to her. “Pour the milk. Good for you! You poured the milk into the cup.”

4. Show her the bowl and tell her to pour the milk into it. Again talk about what she is doing. “Pour the milk into the bowl.”

5. Now give her the package of pudding. Ask, “What do we do now?” Encourage her to tell you that the package needs to beopened. Talk about it. “Yes, we need to open the package. Can you do that? Do you need help?”

6. Show her that the pudding needs to be put into the bowl and then help her place the mixer in and turn it on. “Do you hearthat? The mixer is loud!”

7. Again you can use the word “Pour” as you pour the pudding into containers. Enjoy eating it together!

If your child is five years old:1. Make pudding with your child as described above. During the next few days, again take out the ingredients and pictures andinvite your child to make pudding with you.

2. This time, ask her what to do. When she points to the milk, pick up the container and ask, “What do you do now?” Wait forher to tell you that she will pour the milk into the measuring cup. If she needs help remembering, show her the pictures and againask what to do.

3. Use the same language as she pours the milk into the cup and then pours the milk into the bowl. Talk about everything she isdoing.

Next time, don’t help her at all, but be there to supervise while she uses the mixer. You might be surprised how well your child isable to make pudding all by herself!

And on occasion you can do absurd things like trying to pour milk without opening the container, or trying to use the blenderwithout turning it on. This will motivate your child to communicate and speak to you. Model the language you want her to saywithout asking her to repeat it, but instead to just listen as you enjoy this activity together. For example:

“Oh, of course! We have to open the milk!” “Oh, I understand! We have to turn on the mixer. Of course! Let’s turn on the mixer.”

E) SUMMARY

Take advantage of your child’s interests to teach her new language.

Update the “Speech” section of your notebook.

Listen to your child’s voice quality as it changes in different situations.

List some sounds you can use as you and your preschooler enjoy her favorite toys.

Remember to praise your child’s efforts to use her voice.




Speech and Spoken Language

Development of Speech Sounds

Go to the Next LessonYES! You have completed reading Lesson 4: Meaningful Interactions. Now try some ideas with your child. Consider sharingquestions and successes using the yellow box on any page. Your changing concerns and your child’s increasing skills will besaved in “reports I’ve sent.” You can use these forms to show service providers or family and celebrate progress together. Thenproceed to Lesson 5: Play Activities so this course becomes an individualized guide or go back to the Preschool Course content toselect another module.


Lesson 5: Play ActivitiesAbout PlayYour preschooler will spend much of his time playing. This is time well spent, for play is the real business of childhood. There aremany different kinds of play your child will enjoy, and every type of play will teach him something important. Through play, yourchild develops his mind, his body and with your help and guidance, his communication skills.

Through group play, children develop those all‑important social skills. Because your preschooler has a hearing loss, the languageof play activities may need to be specifically presented. Be part of your child’s playtime, for you must be on hand to supply thelanguage at the moment that your child needs it. The names of his toys, their colors, how many he has, as well as words todescribe what he does with them, are all part of this language of playtime. Don’t forget the common phrases used in the play ofyoung children such as, “It’s mine” or “My/your turn” or “I’m going to be the fireman.” If you provide this language along withopportunities and appropriate materials, your child will do the rest.

So much learning occurs as your little one plays. He is learning about himself, about his body, what he can and cannot do. He islearning about the objects that he handles—whether they are soft or hard, rough or smooth, whether they bend or are stiff. Helearns that some objects—balls, cars, trucks—move when they are pushed, while others—large chairs and tables—do not. Helearns that sometimes, toys (objects) break. He learns that he can change the shape of some things, like clay, but not of others,like a doll or a pail. He learns that a ball is permanent and a bubble is not. In short, while he is developing his fine and grossmotor skills, he is also developing his cognitive ability.

Children use their imaginations to develop receptive and expressive language and to use approximate mental representation. Thisall happens at the same time because this process is closely interrelated. Pretend play includes negotiation between children whohave different ideas, the representation of objects that are both real and imagined, and acting out roles which imagine otherpeople’s thoughts and emotions. All of these actions suggest that the child has the capability of mental representation. Themanner in which children understand someone else’s thoughts is demonstrated on many occasions in pretend play. Thedevelopmental sequence of pretend play begins at approximately three years of age with actions. At four or five years of age,children develop the ability to realize that their thoughts are a unique expression of their own lives, so playing with dolls mightinclude imagining a little brother or a single parent. Children demonstrate many cognitive strategies in pretend play. Theseinclude planning, negotiation, resolution of problems and searching for goals. Pretend play is an essential part of the lives of smallchildren and its importance also extends into primary school.

A) LISTENINGMany parents feel that there should be special toys for their youngster who has a hearing loss. It is important to realize that thereare no toys made specifically for children with a hearing loss. Your child might not be able to hear the softer sounds that toys

http://www.kidworkstherapy.com/ArticulationChart.pdf


http://www.jtc.org/parents/ideas-advice-blog-comments/speech-and-spoken-language





make, but you can guide him in listening to the sounds he can hear. Encourage him to put his ear near the toy and to listenclosely. He will be delighted with the sounds he hears. Learning to listen for the noise of a toy is not only part of the fun for yourchild, but also great training for listening to other sounds in his world.

Since you have plotted your child’s audiogram on the Frequency Spectrum of Familiar Sounds, you know what he can hear. Possibly the high‑pitched sound of a whistle will be difficult for him, but he likes the low‑pitched sound of a drum. Will herespond to a pretend siren? What about toy horns or other musical instruments?Some toys make noise and some noises can be made with objects used as toys by little children. Call your child’s attention tothese sounds as they occur. A toy fire truck may make a sound when it is pushed. If your youngster bangs a spoon on a metalbowl, he makes the noise happen. In both cases, point to your ear and say, “I heard that.” Watch your little one’s face closely. Does he hear it? Be alert for signs that your child hears and listens to these sounds.

As your child is approaching the age of three, he will begin to understand the idea of taking turns and of “waiting.” As he waits, hemust listen and watch for an indication that it is his turn. A great way to teach this is by playing ball with your child. When youplay ball, you might say, “My turn,” “Your turn,” “Daddy’s turn,” as the ball is tossed or rolled from person to person. Your childneeds to listen and to watch. In such a game, the idea of taking turns is picked up in a logical way. When he is comfortable withthis concept, you will ask, “Whose turn is it?” If he does not say anything, you provide the right words as a model, “Yes, it’s yourturn.”

Learning to take turns is a natural lead‑in to waiting, which is often difficult for any preschooler. Waiting and learning to give andtake can be introduced in lively action games that require only a short wait for your child’s turn. This will usually guarantee achild’s acceptance of this new concept. There is no doubt that once he has learned to take turns, the idea of waiting will becomemuch easier for him. When he starts to move out of turn, you can say, “Wait. It’s my turn.”

Teaching your child to wait his turn will help him in his play with other children. Eventually he will be willing to wait when he needsto. Remember, though—he’s a preschooler and he simply won’t be able to wait very long. Offer comments like, “Wait. It’s Susie’sturn. Next it’s your turn.” When he does wait patiently, reward him, as encouragement in this area is very important. You mightsay, “Good job! You waited your turn,” or simply, “You waited!” as you give him a smile and a pat on the back. Learning to playtogether takes practice. Play is an excellent time to use listening and language skills.

B) LANGUAGEWhen you are involved in your child’s play, his opportunity for learning language is maximized. You will have many opportunitiesfor introducing words and using familiar language when playing with your child. Whatever activity you and your child are enjoying,use the natural language that describes the toys or actions. While reading a book together, you might say, “Turn the page,” ordescribe an illustration by commenting, “Oh! It’s a puppy! It’s jumping!” When playing with clay, you might say, “The clay is soft. Roll, roll, roll it.” Perhaps you and your child are enjoying a game of “Follow the Leader.” You could say, “How big you are! Youdon’t fit. Climb over the stool.” Play is a time to develop your child’s action‑oriented words!

Talk About Your Child’s ToysAll of your child’s toys—and what he does with them—provide countless opportunities for meaningful conversation. Bikes ortricycles are ridden; wagons are pulled and loaded; doll buggies and toy lawn mowers are pushed; dolls are carried, hugged, loved,fed and put to bed. Toy cars are pushed and they go fast and slow.

Simple, inexpensive homemade toys to be enjoyed alone or with others can also be used to promote your child’s growth anddevelopment. Too many toys presented at one time can be distracting to any child. Encourage good “clean up” skills by having aplace to put all toys away when your child is finished or when it’s time to clean up.



Games are an important part of group play for growing children. Most games have rules. Begin now to prepare your child for thetime when he will need to learn and follow the rules for games. Watching and listening to other children in the neighborhood or atthe park or playground may give you ideas about the games they play and the language needed to learn the rules. You can begin

Toys that provide opportunities for interactions with other children are important, such as balls and dress‑up clothes. Balls arerolled, pushed, caught, kicked and thrown; they are big and little, soft and hard, red, blue and yellow. Sometimes they are evenlost: “Where is your ball?” They are also happily found: “You found your ball. It was under the chair,” “behind the sofa,” “on theshelf,” or “in the closet.” Puzzles need to be dumped out, and puzzle pieces put in. You might say, “Put the orange in. Where isthe apple? Here are the grapes.” Playing dress‑up is a chance for lots of conversation, too.

Your Language Is a Model for Your ChildWhile you are working around the house or yard, your child is busy at his “job,” too. He is playing! Even as you go about your dailyroutine, you can provide the language to go along with your child’s activities. Since your preschooler probably likes to play nearyou, watch him as he plays. Think about the language he needs to describe what he is doing. Take a look at your child’s toys andplaythings. Think about the language that goes with each one!

As he places the final block on a tower he has built, you might say, “You built a tower! It’s high!” Or, after one block too many hassent his tower crashing down, say, “Oh, it fell down.” Say it sympathetically if he is distressed. If he is elated by the crash, sayenthusiastically, “Wow! It fell down!”

At times your child will “start a conversation” with you by pointing. He may be asking for help, expressing frustration, showingpride in his accomplishment or asking for your praise. Even if he hasn’t used any words in this “conversation,” you can provide themodel of the appropriate language. You might say, “Do you need help?” “It doesn’t fit.” “Oh, that’s pretty.” “What a good job!”

As your child begins to spontaneously use language while playing, you will have many chances to reinforce and expand hislanguage. If your preschooler says, “ba” for “ball,” you will, of course, be delighted (and you will show him your delight). But youwill also model the complete word “ball,” and expand what your child says by adding, “Yes, that’s a ball.” Later, you will want toexpand further by saying, “Yes, here is the big ball. Throw the ball to Daddy!”

If your child is using simple sentences, use playtime to expand and extend his language. When your child says, “my ball,” you canacknowledge his communication and expand this to: “Yes, it’s your ball! Can you throw your ball?” Keep the conversation going!You can also use imaginative play as you dress a doll and forget an article of clothing or “fly” a truck instead of an airplane. Yourchild will respond quickly and an opportunity for speech, language and listening is created.

Social Play and LanguageAs children grow and begin to play with others, they need to learn some social language. “Hi” and “Bye‑bye” are often thebeginning of social language. But children need many other words and expressions. Even if your child is very young and not yetplaying with other children, begin now to prepare him for social play.

As your preschooler becomes older, he will enjoy quiet games such as picture lotto, picture rummy or other table games that alsoinvolve taking turns. The activities suggested in this lesson offer practice in this, too.

“Go Fish” is a perennial favorite of the preschool crowd. Enjoy it with your youngster. Not only is it an excellent springboard for alanguage lesson, but it also requires good listening. If your child’s language is still limited, you can make a set of color cards touse in the same way as the more advanced game of “Go Fish” with animal pictures and names.

Rules for Games



with some of the games suggested with each lesson of this course, or you can devise little games of your own. Remember, theidea is to teach your child the words he needs to understand the rules of various games.

What sports are popular with your family? Each one has its own vocabulary, explaining or describing the game. In baseball, forexample, you will want to teach your child language such as, “Swing!” “Billy is at bat.” “Run fast.” “It’s a home run.” “You’re out.” There are countless phrases and words you can use in talking about playing the game. And, of course, this is true of every sport.

Every neighborhood is a place of discoveries and explorations. Yours, too, is full of things to talk about. Take a walk with yourchild and enjoy it from his perspective. Pause whenever you see or hear something that might interest him, or when he shows thathe has noticed something. Stop and talk about whatever it is: a flower or weed growing; something on the ground; a car or truck;something on a front lawn. A leisurely walk is a time to talk to your child about things which interest him; and it is also a time foryou to enjoy each other’s company.

A walk is also a good opportunity to teach some basic traffic rules. Stop at crossings and say, “Look!” Look both ways and thensay, “No cars. OK. Let’s go!” Or you might say, “Here comes a car. Wait for the car.” Don’t hesitate to be dramatic—it will help yourchild understand. If there are traffic lights, point to them. “The light is green. Let’s go.” Or you might say, “The light is red. Redmeans stop.”

In many areas, there are distinct seasonal changes that provide new and different topics for conversation. Before your child goesout to play—whether in sand, water or snow—talk about what he is going to do. Use a picture or look out the window at thewading pool or snow. Show him a toy or an object that will help him understand: his sailboat, his pail and shovel, the rake, asled. And, of course, you can talk about what he is wearing: “Put on your swimming suit,” or “Here are your mittens and boots.” So much conversation can take place as he gets ready to go outside. And the conversation continues as he plays and explores—nomatter what season of the year it is.

In the Spring or SummerOn warm days your child may spend hours in a sandbox. If you are sitting close by or working in the yard, he will often look up at

Language During Sports

Walking and Talking

Parks and PlaygroundsA change of scenery is always welcome. If there is a park or playground near you, your child will enjoy visiting it. The playgroundequipment will give you many opportunities for language teaching: “Here’s a slide.” “There is the swing.” As he plays, talk aboutwhat he is doing, “You climbed up!”

Swings are popular with young children. If he understands the word, “Push,” ask, “Do you want a push?” Pause a moment to see ifhe will attempt to say “Push!” If he does not respond, you provide the language: “Yes! You need a push. I’ll push you. Up you go! You’re swinging!”

Rough and tumble outdoor play is a great time to focus on verb development. There’s so much running, jumping, falling,bumping, and pedaling! Children often like to play chasing games outside where there are lots of opportunities for them to usetheir loud voices. Learning to listen to the sounds of other children’s loud voices is one way to be sure to be included in the fun. You can say, “Listen! The children are having fun! They’re running. Do you want to run, too?”

Seasonal Changes



you. You have the perfect opportunity to say, “So much sand!” “Put sand in the pail.” “Where’s your shovel?” If your child plays in water outdoors—in the sprinklers, with the hose or in a pool—you will need to remove his hearing aids orcochlear implant. He will now rely on your facial expressions and body language to understand you. But don’t stop talking! “Thewater is cold,” you say as you wrap your arms around yourself and pretend to shiver. “It’s hot out here!” Wipe your brow and fanyourself. Keep an eye on your little fellow and you will notice that he is also watching you as he continues to communicate abouthis experiences.

In the Fall or WinterIf you live in a certain climate, autumn brings with it crisp air. Something new to your youngster covers the ground—somethingfun for your child to play in and for you to talk about—the crackling dry leaves! “The leaves came off the trees.” “Run through theleaves!” “Find a red leaf.” “Let’s rake the leaves.”

If it snows where you live, those mysterious white flakes cover everything and make the world a fascinating new playground foryour preschooler. “Watch it snow!” “Catch a snow flake.” “Make a snowman.” “I’ll pull the sled.”

Each season of the year provides opportunities for introducing new language as you and your preschooler play and exploretogether. Remember to take some pictures. As you look at wintertime snapshots during warm summer months, you will reviewand reinforce “winter vocabulary.” As a new springtime approaches, bring out pictures from the previous spring. Talk about whatwill soon be happening in your child’s world.

Creative Play and LanguageCreative activities—painting, working with clay, drawing, cutting and pasting—provide still more opportunities for languagelearning. You don’t need to watch your child every moment as he paints, draws or cuts, but be ready to supply meaningfullanguage when he looks at you. With a little prior thought and planning, you can make every look count. Also, do pauseoccasionally as you go about your household tasks to admire, to comment, to praise.

As your child enjoys creative play, you have many opportunities to introduce new words of all kinds. Your child’s vocabulary needsto expand beyond just nouns. Jars of paint need to be opened and closed and sometimes stirred. Caps are taken off and put backon. Paper is put on the easel and taken off. Pictures need to dry, and when your child is finished, he will need to wash his handsand dry them. Look for opportunities like this to use repetitive language. The more you are able to use the same words indifferent situations, the more likely your child will be to grasp the full meaning of the word as he learns it.

Clay can be formed into a big (or little) ball or rolled in a long strip. Your child may pinch off a little piece of clay or a big piece. Long strokes can be made with a paintbrush. Or, he may just dab the paint!

As your child’s vocabulary grows, creative activities allow for the development of more advanced language.

You might say things like:

“Here is another crayon.”“You need another piece of chalk.”“Do you want more paper?”“Let’s get more paint.” Other comments might be: “You have too much paint.”“How colorful!”“You’re an artist!”“Watch out! It’s dripping!”



Building activities have sounds you can talk about. When your youngster is hammering, say, “Bang! Bang! That’s loud!” Talk toyour child about these sounds when they occur. As in all activities, speak close to your child, giving him the opportunity to hearyou.

The World of Make‐BelieveAll children need opportunities to use their imaginations. This includes your child, too. Nearly everything he sees grown‑ups andother children do can become material for dramatic play. So, encourage your child and watch him closely. Interestingly enough,by observing the nature of this make‑believe, you often see yourself as your child sees you.Dramatic play also indicates the things your child is interested in learning and gives you clues as to what you should talk about. You can contribute to this kind of play by providing places and “props.” More importantly, you can offer some of the words forwhat he is doing and what he is using.

A “housekeeping corner” is a great inducement for dramatic play. Any place—just a corner of a room—where your child can safelyplay with little interference will do. A pad or pillow on the floor can be a pretend bed; low boxes can be chairs, tables, stoves andeven refrigerators. Many household objects may also become part of this housekeeping corner.There are endless activities in connection with playing house that children enjoy. Washing, ironing, and hanging up clothes;cooking and sweeping; dressing, changing, bathing and feeding a doll or teddy bear. Whether you are an observer or a participant,all of these activities provide the opportunity to talk with your child.

If your child has gone shopping with you, he will most likely enjoy a play store. Like his “house,” this can be very simple. Crates orboxes in a convenient corner of the house or yard will do. While miniature replicas of some grocery products are available in toystores, he can use empty cans, boxes, or milk cartons from your kitchen. If you provide a few, simple props, his imagination maytake over and lead him into the world of make‑believe.As your youngster plays with you or other children, there can be exchanges of products, pretend money, and conversation. Manyexpressions can be used. As your little one acquires more language, you may want to use more questions and number concepts. You can ask your child, “How much is the milk?” His response might be a simple approximation of “Three.” In turn, you can say,“Three! The milk is three dollars. One, two, three.”

Do not force any learning during these moments of fun. This is a time for your child to relax and enjoy what he is doing. He willlearn naturally without being conscious that he is expected to learn. As he learns new words, you will someday hear them utteredspontaneously as he is playing.

“Dressing up” makes playing house or store even more fun. A “dress‑up” box will be appreciated for years. Hats, scarves, purses,old shoes, dresses, shirts and jackets all will make a collection of costumes for your child. With a little imagination, your childbecomes a mother, a father, or a storekeeper. In fact, he or she may become a police officer, a princess, a cowboy or anastronaut. If you enter into this make‑believe world, you will find special opportunities to talk to your child in his new role. Talkabout who he is, what he is doing, what he is wearing. Play along with the situation. Let your imagination run as freely as yourchild’s and have fun!

Dramatic play is also a wonderful way to encourage social skills with siblings or other children. As children take on roles together,they create something to talk about and opportunities for interactions.

When You Don’t Take PartMany times when your child is playing, either alone or with other children, you can observe and take a few notes on the kind ofplay that goes on. Do you notice him taking an interest in cowboys, for example? If so, you can talk about this interest using



Toy garages and gas stations can also be made or purchased. A simple shoebox can serve as either a mechanic’s garage or anairplane hanger. Some fancier garages come equipped with ramps for cars to go “down” and elevators for cars to go “up.” Toygarages are great favorites with children who enjoy playing with cars. Think of all the different adjectives that can be emphasizedwhile playing with cars and garages. “Your big red car is going down the ramp” and “The little truck has a flat tire.” If youryoungster’s shoebox is serving as his airplane hangar or airport terminal, your language will match that activity.

A toy town can be made using a large piece of cardboard with streets and parking lots or farmland marked on it. The houses,stores, churches and gas stations can be made from small boxes. Toy cars can be driven through the town as your child relivesreal experiences. “We’re going to the store.” “The car needs gas.” “Here’s a parking place.” “Time to go home.” Your child candevelop his sequencing skills as he does this.Whether your child is just beginning to learn language or is talking in sentences, most of the language he needs to acquire can bedeveloped during play. Be involved! Have fun with your preschooler.

pictures during a quiet time of the day. By studying his world of make‑believe, you will learn what many of his interests are atvarious stages of his development. You can also learn about his social skills and what needs more attention.

Language Opportunities with ToysMiniature toys, including dollhouses, garages and farms equipped with small toy people, furniture, cars and animals, are great funfor children. When your little one plays with these small toys, he usually is in one area with them. He may move his cars or farmanimals from place to place, but he himself will not move a significant distance. If you sit on the floor, close to your child, he willhear your spoken language, and he will have many opportunities to respond to you.

DollhousesDramatic play using a dollhouse and small toy people can provide many opportunities for using the language of everyday life. Daily activities can be reenacted and the language that goes along with them can be reinforced. Using the dollhouse kitchen, forexample, you and your child can make believe that the toy people cook, eat and clean up just as you and your family do duringyour daily life. The dollhouse bedroom and bathroom are a good setting for playing out—and talking about—the whole bedtimeroutine.

Dollhouses are also wonderful places to emphasize prepositions, such as “Let’s put the Mommy in the chair” or “The baby iscrawling under the table.”

Toy FarmsChildren who live in the country, or have visited there, can relive their farm experiences through play with a toy farm. Thoseyoungsters who are “city dwellers” can enjoy learning about a farm, talking about animals and using their imaginations. As yourchild “plays farm,” allow him to use his ideas as you supply the language to match them: “Drive the tractor.” “The sheep are in thebarn.” “It’s time to milk the cows.” “The pigs are hungry. Let’s feed the pigs.” “The duck says, ‘Quack, quack.’” Young childrenare often interested in baby animals and can learn to match the babies with their parents. In this way, your child is expanding histhinking skills during play, too.

Toy Garages

Toy Towns

C) SPEECHYour child can develop many speech sounds during his play. In fact, it is preferable that speech sounds are associated with toys



and other play activities, since play provides endless opportunities for practice. Even more practice than in formal therapy! Take alook at your child’s playthings and the activities he enjoys the most. What speech sounds can you associate with them? Does helike to play with stuffed animals? Try “Meow” for the cat, “Woof‑woof” for the dog and “Hop‑hop” for the bunny rabbit. Farmanimals are fun too: “Moooo” for the cow, “Oink‑Oink” for the pig and “Neigh” for the horse. From just these few animal sounds,your child may learn to listen to and produce varied vowels and consonants, like the /h/ in hop, the /m/ in moo and the /ow/ inmeow.

Present the sounds as you play with your child. Smile, keep it fun and encourage imitations while playing. Does your child alreadyhave a speech sound that he associates with a toy, such as a siren for his toy car? Take advantage of this! Imitate the sound backto him, close to your child’s hearing aids or cochlear implant. In your reports on your lesson, let us know what sounds your childnaturally produces during play and how it sounds to you.

What if your child’s imitations do not sound like yours? To begin, allow your child to use his voice. You may need to isolate onefeature of the speech sound as you present it, particularly the vowels. With time and practice, you will notice that your child’sapproximations gradually become closer to your original speech productions. You are developing your ability to listen to yourchild’s speech during “vocal play.”

If your child is talking, please tell us which speech sounds are difficult for him to say. We can discuss how you can help your littleone as he learns to produce them more clearly.

VIDEO CLIP & IDEAS FOR EXTRA LEARNINGView brief video clip celebrating the progress of JTC preschooler enjoying playing together with a parent.

View a video clip from an individual speech language session involving including toys in reading.



LISTENING: Discriminating SoundsPurpose of the Game:To help your child who is in the beginning stages of speech development understand the difference between long and shortsounds

To guide your child who is in more advanced stages of speech development to use his hearing and recognize the differencebetween sounds in words

What to Do: For beginning listeners:

1. You will need to have two different animals or toys so that you can present two contrasting sounds. You can use toy animals,perhaps a cow and a dog, or a toy airplane and boat. If you have a toy barn, you can use this. Or you can use an old shoebox to bethe barn. (If you are using the airplane and boat, create a pretend runway and use a blue cloth or paper for water.)

2. Move the cow toward the barn while saying, “Mooo‑o‑o‑o.” Then move the dog while saying, “Woof, woof, woof.” You can dothe same with the airplane while saying, “Wheeeeee,” and the boat while saying “Putt, putt, putt, putt.” As you can hear, the twosounds presented are different in that one is a long, continuous sound, and one is a short and repeated sound.

3. Repeat the long and short sounds again, and this time guide your child’s hand in repeating the movement of the cow versusthe dog, or plane versus the boat immediately after you vocalize.

4. After guiding your child’s response for several trials, give him a chance to vocalize on his own.

For more advanced listeners:1. Play bingo with your child by making two boards with six to nine pictures. You might use pictures of two‑syllable words likecowboy, pancake, popcorn, baseball, airplane, birthday, cupcake and toothbrush. Or you might choose some food words, such ascake, apple, juice, eggs, beans, tomato, etc. Furniture can also be used: lamp, chair, table, bed, desk, couch (or sofa).

2. Place copies of the same pictures in a container and take turns pulling one out. Say the name of the picture and place it onyour bingo board. Your child might not understand the concept of getting pictures that line up as in the traditional bingo game,but he will have fun trying to say the word and putting the picture over the picture on the bingo board. Be enthusiastic as you



Purpose of the Game: To present some new vocabulary during a food preparation activityTo introduce your child to the concepts of matching colors and experiencing different tastes

What You Need:A large bowlMixing spoonKnife (use a knife that is not sharp for your child)Three or four of your child’s favorite fruits such as: apples, strawberries, grapes, melon, orange, kiwi or bananasA picture of a fruit salad

What to Do:1. Put the fruit, bowl and spoon on the kitchen table.

2. Sit at the table beside your child. Show him the picture and tell him that you are going to make fruit salad. Hand him the firstfruit and knife (not too sharp) and explain that he will cut the banana.

Help him if he needs assistance, but let him do as much as he can on his own. This is the time to have a conversation:

“We need to peel the banana. Pull!”“What do you need to cut the banana? You need a knife. Cut, cut, cut.”“The banana feels squishy. Do you like how it feels?”“How does it smell?”

3. Let him taste the banana if he wants to – show him he can, by taking a small piece and then tasting it.

“Mmm. Taste it.”“Do you like it?”“Let’s put the banana in the bowl.”

4. You can also include color names. Talk about the color of the different pieces of fruit. Show your child the next piece of fruitand say, “Let’s cut the melon for our fruit salad.” Continue your conversation:

cover the pictures on the boards.

Say things like:“You have a tiger. Cover the tiger!”“Daddy has a dog. I’ll cover the dog.”“Cow! Mooooo! We both have cows. Let’s cover them.”“Your turn! What animal is it?”“No more. The cards are gone. Let’s play again!”

Remember to provide opportunities for your child to listen as much as possible. Your preschooler needs every opportunity todevelop audition, and through these games you have a perfect opportunity. Take advantage of it!

LANGUAGE: Making Fruit Salad



“What color is this? Yes, it’s green.”“Let’s put the melon in with the banana.”

5. Match colors of the fruit to other objects the same color.

“Orange! Your shirt is orange. They’re the same color.”“The grapes are green. Can you find something else that’s green?”

6. You can count the number of grapes or strawberries.

7. Eat and ENJOY YOUR SNACK!If your child’s amplification provides access to speech, you can help him develop listening skills by speaking beside him so that hedoes not rely on speech reading. Then if he does not understand, try other visual cues.

Variations:1. If your child already knows the names of these different foods, introduce the category word “fruits.”

2. Making pudding is a similar task and allows for repetition of language. You can talk about flavor and color. If you use anelectric mixer, also call your child’s attention to the sound the mixer makes.

3. Instant pudding can be used to make Popsicles. Pour it into small molds or an ice cube tray; place a stick in each portionbefore freezing. Lemonade and fruit juices can also be used for Popsicles. Now you can talk about how cold they are and how theymelt.

4. Ask you child to help with cleanup, throwing away the banana peel, the melon rind and wiping the counter.

5. As your child grows, you may want to do more cooking activities together. Cooking offers many opportunities forconversation. You might want to make a large poster with pictures to illustrate each step.

If Your Child Is Ready: Advanced Language and SkillsMany children love to measure and pour ingredients when they help in preparing food. If your child is interested, use a measuringcup to introduce the ideas of “half” and “full.”

SPEECH: Feeding Your DollPurpose of the Game: To provide acoustically varied sounds such as high and low pitchTo provide practice with long and short duration

What You Need: A favorite food such as applesauce or pudding, cookies, pieces of cut‑up fruit

What to Do:1. Put a bowl of applesauce on the table and sit beside your child and his doll.

2. Talk about the applesauce as you and your child feed the doll. You might say,

“Yummmmm! Good,” as you use long duration of sound.“Oooooh, it’s cold,” as you vary the pitch of your voice.



Purpose of the Activity: To converse with your child during bedtime

What to Do:

1. Set a specific time for bedtime. Try to let your child know that bedtime is approaching, perhaps by showing him a picture ofhimself getting into bed. And if he’s old enough, you can show him the position of the “big” and “little” hands on the clock whichmean, “Time for bed.”

2. Establish your own bedtime routine. A suggested routine might be first to have your child brush his teeth and have his bath. Then turn down the covers, followed by folding the bedspread. Either sitting with your child on the bed or having tucked him in,read a story; enjoy a quiet conversation; recite nursery rhymes; or sing a song. Your good‑night kiss will mean, “Time to go tosleep.”

3. A few quiet moments before bedtime may help your child settle down and prepare him for sleep. Active and stimulatingactivities should be discontinued at least a half‑hour before bedtime. Story reading is an excellent activity for this period of time.

4. Parents can take turns or can both be involved in the bedtime routine. Use appropriate language such as:

“Time for bed.” “Let’s get ready for bed.” “Let’s read a story. Where is your book?” “Shall we sing a song?”Other language could include words associated with undressing and bathing, such as the names of articles of clothing, parts of thebody, and so on.Talk about other things associated with going to bed:“Are you sleepy?” (tired)“Becky is sleepy.” (tired) “Let’s turn down your covers.” “Get under the covers.” “Let’s turn the light off.” “Night‑night.” “Good night.” “Sleep tight.”

5. A soft light can give your child a sense of comfort and security. If this is so for your preschooler, try a small nightlight or leavethe door to his room ajar so there is a little light from the hallway. This may help your child feel less alone, and more comfortable

“Oh‑oh,” as you vary the pitch of your voice, if some is spilled. “Wipe, wipe, wipe the table,” as you use short duration of sounds.

3. Encourage your child to respond.

“Yummmm! It’s good. Is it good?” When your child answers, repeat, “Yes, it’s good. Yummmm.”“What are you doing? Are you wiping the table? Wipe, wipe, wipe!”

EVERYDAY ACTIVITY: Bedtime



at night. If you are concerned with bedtime problems, request our special paper, “Bedtime.”

Variations:For “quiet talk” time, you can draw a simple picture of something that happened during the day.

Write a simple sentence describing the event underneath the picture. For example, your child may have fallen down during theday. You may draw a simple face with a few tears on it. Or, you may just put a bandage on the paper. Underneath, you might write,“Ayush fell down.”

As your child develops more understanding and language, you can give him a choice of topics for his picture. For example, youmight show your child a bandage for the scraped knee, or the stick from his popsicle. As he makes a choice, use that for the day’sstory.As you use a simple picture each night, keep the pages in a binder. It will be your child’s own “special book” to look at again andagain.

Following the day your child scraped his knee, you can look at the story of the scraped knee and say, “ALL FINISHED.” Then you areready for a story for “today.” This is a wonderful way to begin teaching your child about the passage of time and concepts ofYESTERDAY, TODAY and TOMORROW. Also, this will give your child many opportunities to talk about what has happened duringthe day, using his own language skills the best he can.

A THINKING ACTIVITY: Growing BeansPurpose of the Activity: To learn about things that growTo understand cause and effectTo learn new language associated with nature

What You Need: Two or three lima beans (or any available bean)A clear plastic containerDirtA book about growing plants

What to Do:

1. Tell your child, “Let’s grow some beans!” Take him to the place you have gathered the beans, container, dirt and water. Alsoplace a book, or pictures of a plant growing from a seed next to your work area.

2. Show the pictures to your child as you talk. “We’re going to put some dirt in the cup. Put in the dirt.”

3. Then talk about putting a seed in the dirt and show a picture. “Now put the bean into the dirt.”

4. Next talk about water to make the bean grow. “We need water. Where is the water? Put a little water on the dirt.”

5. Look at the pictures again and talk about the sun also making the bean grow. “Where is the sun? Can you find a place withlots of sun?”

6. Again look at the pictures and talk about how the bean grows.



Variations:1. You can also go for a walk and talk about plants in their various stages of growth. Possibly you can find one that is justcoming through the soil. Talk about how it came from a seed. Then look at a bigger plant and talk about how it is growing.

2. When the bean sprouts, you can transplant it into a bigger pot. Now you can talk about growing, needing more dirt and abigger pot.

PLAYTIME: Stringing ObjectsPurpose of the Game: To help your child to develop eye‑hand coordination skills and fine motor skillsTo have a conversation about the objects he is stringing, using color and number words

What You Need:

Something to string, such as beads, large buttons, spools, macaroni, shapes cut from construction paper

Something to string with, such as shoelaces or yarn with the ends dipped in all‑purpose white glue or melted wax to make stiff lacing tips

What to Do:1. Set all the materials you need in containers, such as small boxes or bowls, in front of you and your child on a table. You may want to start with thecolors mixed together. Later, you can separate the colors into different containers.

2. Begin with a simple stringing activity. If your child needs help stringing, you can place your hand over his as you help him learn the motions. For ayoung child, choose large wooden beads. Your language might include:

“Put it on.”“What color is this?” “Now you have two.” “Where is the yellow one?”

3. As you and your child move the objects along the string, you can also enjoy vocal play. For example, you might say aloud, “Push, push, push” as hemoves the object along the string. Or, you might say, “Ohhhh! That’s a long string” (making the word “long” as extended as possible) as your child begins tostring the objects. This exposes your child to long and short vocalizations. Encourage your child’s attempts to imitate your words if he tries. If he doesn’t,continue producing the words yourself.

4. Your child can also make “jewelry” by stringing buttons, macaroni, or spools into long chains.

Variations:1. A stringing activity also lends itself to introducing or reviewing numbers. You can count aloud as you and your child string the objects:

“One, two, three.” “Look! There are three!”“One more! Now you have four.”

2. Separate the colors into different containers to introduce names of colors as well. You and your child can string beads from different color groups.

You can say:

“You have the red ones.” “Look! That’s green.” “Where are the green beads?”

3. For holidays, you can string shapes or objects made from construction paper. For example, you might string orange pumpkins, black cats, and whiteghosts for Halloween or hearts for Valentine’s Day. Simply punch a hole in the center of each shape before stringing it. Then, hang them up for decorations. What are some symbols from your traditions that would be fun for your youngster to string?

If Your Child Is Ready: Advanced Language and Skills1. As your child matures and becomes more skilled with stringing and recognizing the differences between colors, he might enjoy following a certainpattern of colors. Have a pattern ready for him to copy, even by stringing a series yourself for him to see, or drawing a picture he can match.

2. You might begin with one blue, then one red, then one blue, and so on, to see first if your child can follow a pattern. He may need your help for a while. Point out the correct colors! Tell him how well he is doing. Encourage him to try on his own when he understands. Later, he might try other variations, suchas two blue ones and then a red one, or any other color sequence. You can also do this with different shapes.

3. If your child’s eye‑hand coordination is advanced enough, you can introduce him to lacing. Perhaps he would enjoy making a Christmas stocking, forexample, by lacing together two pieces of felt or construction paper in which you have punched holes.

4. Commercial lacing cards might also be used. The language you use, of course, will vary with the picture.

“What a pretty cat!” “You’re lacing the bear.” “You made a dog!”

5. Your child may also enjoy lacing shoes. Perhaps Daddy’s shoes might be easier to start with. Children’s clothing also often comes with laces in the front



so children can easily help.

E) SUMMARY

Play is the business of childhood. It is a time of learning and fun for your preschooler.

Play with your child.

When playing with your child, bring his attention to the sounds his toys make.

List the words you use frequently as your child enjoys his favorite toy.

Involve your child in a sport if you and he are interested.

Go to a local playground and play on the equipment as you use language to describe what you are doing.

Encourage your child’s creativity and display his efforts.

When you and your child play together, the emphasis is on fun. If you offer correction of language or speech, do so informally.

If your child is able to hear the sounds of speech, encourage him to use audition only to understand you. This will help develop his listening andreceptive language skills.


Purposeful Pausing

Learning in Play

Go to the Next LessonYES! You have completed reading Lesson 5: Play Activities. Now try some ideas with your child. Consider sharing questions andsuccesses using the yellow box on any page. Your changing concerns and your child’s increasing skills will be saved in “reportsI’ve sent.” You can use these forms to show service providers or family and celebrate progress together. Then proceed to Lesson 6:Daily Routines so this course becomes an individualized guide or go back to the Preschool Course content to select anothermodule.


Lesson 6: Daily RoutinesA) LISTENINGYour home is filled with the sounds of everyday living. The vacuum, washing machine and teakettle make loud sounds. The TV ordishwasher create background noise, too. If you listen closely, you can hear birds chirping outside or your kitten purring. It isimportant to help your child become aware and learn to recognize all of these sounds. Begin with loud sounds. A pan drops in the kitchen. Immediately point to your ear and say to your preschooler, “I heard that! Thepan dropped and was loud!”

As you and your child set the table, you hear the clatter of silverware. Again, bring her attention to the sound and identify thesource.

The teakettle begins to whistle. Before running to the kitchen to remove it from the burner, ask your child, “What is that noise? Doyou hear something in the kitchen? What is it?”

As you involve your preschooler in routine chores, you have a perfect opportunity to help her learn the sounds of appliances. Putlaundry into the washing machine together and then listen as you turn it on. Talk about how it washes clothes. As your childbecomes older and her listening skills are being refined, listen to the different sounds the washer makes as it goes into the


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different cycles. Then listen to the dryer. It sounds different. Put clothes into the dryer and talk about what it does. Later askyour child to listen for the dryer. Can she hear it? Are the clothes still being dried or can you take them out and fold them?

Any routine that involves water is a time to practice listening, too! Together with your child, listen to water running into thebathtub before removing her hearing aids or cochlear implant. Listen to the soft sound of the sprinklers outside, too! After another family member has had a bath or when ready to drain the water from the kitchen sink, talk to your youngster aboutthe “glub, glub, glub” sound made as the water goes down the drain. Most importantly, think of routine chores and the soundsassociated with them. Then make a consistent effort to point out those sounds to your child every time you do that chore and yourchild is nearby. Soon she might be telling you that the dishwasher is finished, the dryer has stopped, or the TV has been turnedon. These sounds now have meaning and are a part of her life.

Also become aware of how constant background noise can interfere with the perception of the human voice. As much as possible,eliminate the constant noise of a television, radio, or lawn mower while you are having conversations with your child.

B) LANGUAGEHold many conversations throughout the day.

MealtimeBreakfast, lunch, dinner and snack time provide countless opportunities for language learning through conversations. Sitting atthe table with your child allows you to be close enough for her to make good use of her hearing. You have her attention becauseshe is hungry. She is ready to eat and ready to learn. Talk about her food. You might say:

“Here’s your sandwich.”“Have some cereal.”“Do you want more milk?”“The orange is good.”“You ate all your soup.”

You can talk about the utensils she uses:

“Here’s your plate.”“You need a spoon.”“You dropped your fork!”“You have a big cup.”Other common phrases may be:“Yum! The pudding is good.”“You like milk.”“The jelly is sweet.”“Your hands are sticky.”“Do you want more carrots?”“Yes, you are hungry.”“Oh, what a face!”“You don’t like the soup.”“You don’t want any milk.”

These are just a few of the things you can say. Your child’s likes and dislikes will give you many more ideas. Encourage her to useher expressive language to answer questions, to ask for more or to tell you that she is finished.



Before and After MealsAs you prepare for the meal, you will have many chances to introduce and reinforce language. Try to include your child in somepart of the preparation. Most children love to help. Setting the table, for example, is something even very little ones can do, andyou can talk to your child at each step of the activity. You can say:

“We need some forks.”“Give Daddy a plate.”“Here’s Mommy’s plate.”“Put your plate on the table.”“We need two cups.”“You put the cup on the table.”“Put another cup on the table.”“Here are the napkins.”

As you take things out of drawers and cupboards, you can use new words such as “open” and “close” or “shut.” Things are put “on”the table before mealtime and taken “off” afterwards. You can point out that foods are “hot” and “cold.”

The after meal clean‑up is also full of opportunities for language. New words can be introduced and others used again in adifferent way. You might say, “Let’s wash the table,” and “Wash the dishes.” Plates, spoons, forks, cups and bowls are taken “offthe table” and put “in the sink” or “in the dishwasher.” Water, like food, can be “hot” or “cold.” And when the dishes are washedand dried, they are put away. Forks, knives (no sharp knives) and spoons are often stored in divided drawers. This is a wonderfulchance for your child to learn categorizing. You can show her how to sort the silverware, and then reinforce the action withlanguage:

“Put the fork there.”“The spoons go here.”“This is for big spoons.”“This is for little ones.”

Including your preschooler in either meal preparation or clean‑up (or both) is an opportunity to offer the important language ofpraise and recognition. As you acknowledge her efforts in helping, you not only teach language but you also boost her self‑esteem as you say things like:

“Good job!”“You’re Daddy’s helper.”“You put the cups on the table. Thank you!”

Snack TimeAnother opportunity for teaching language is at snack time. As you show your child the food for the snack, talk about each item. Give her one at a time. If she wants more, she’ll ask. This is a great chance for continuing the conversation and reinforcinglanguage as you ask, “Do you want another cracker?” or “Do you want more milk?” Always give your child a little less than youthink she will want. This will provide you with another opportunity to repeat the words and a chance for her to once again use thewords she knows if she wants more.

Don’t expect things to always go smoothly and according to plan. After all, she’s a preschooler! Often the unexpected andunplanned provide the best language opportunities:



“You dropped your cracker.”“The cracker broke.”“Oh! The milk spilled.”“Let’s wipe up the milk.”Some other commonly used mealtime language includes:“You’re hungry.”“You like juice.”“Ummm! That’s good!”“All done!”

As your child grows, the same simple snack can provide language that grows with her. When the time is right, you will provideopportunities to make choices:

“Do you want milk or juice?”“Do you want a big glass or a little glass?”“Do you want an apple or a pear?”

While your child is young, offering her a choice between two equally acceptable options is a good idea. She will feel quite grownup! Additionally, as you say something like, “A banana! Mmm. Bananas are good,” you are sending a subtle message of yourconfidence in her. She can make choices of her own. This is another chance for her to use her expressive language!

BedtimeBedtime is another daily activity that is rich in language‑learning opportunities. As you help your child get ready for bed, you canuse over and over again words and expressions you want her to learn. Talk about your child’s clothing as you help her getundressed and into her nightclothes.

“Let’s take your shirt off.”“Now your pants.”“Pull your sock.”“Pull hard.”“Let’s put on your pajamas (or nightgown, or PJs).”As she undresses and dresses, talk about the parts of your child’s body.“Where’s your foot?”“Pull the shirt over your head.”“There’s your arm.”“You pushed your arm through!”As you undress your child, there are many opportunities to use the word “off.”“Let’s take your shoes off.”“Take your pants off.”“You took your shirt off.”And there are many other wonderful words and ideas to use when dressing or undressing. Think of some that fit your child’sinterests and language level. Here are some examples:“Open the drawer.”“Your pajamas are soft.”“Your pajamas are warm (blue, red, new, big).”“Your foot is stuck.”



“Pull your pants up (down).”“Throw your clothes in the hamper.”“Let’s button your nightie.”“Turn the covers down.”“Pull the covers (spread, blanket).”“Climb into bed.”“Shall we read a story? Which one?”“Get the book.”

Washing up before going to bed—even if your child isn’t taking a bath—can be a learning time, too. While your preschoolerwashes her face and hands, you can say:

“Get the soap.”“Rub it.”“It’s slippery.”“Oops! You dropped it.”“Rinse your hands.”“Here’s the towel.”“Rub, rub, rub.” “The towel is soft.”

Learning to brush and clean her teeth is an important self‑help skill filled with language‑learning opportunities for your child. Letting your child select her own toothbrush at the store—her favorite color or cartoon character—may make it more special forher. While you help her brush her teeth, the “tube” is “squeezed”; the “water” is “turned on” and “off.” As she brushes, you canrepeat the words “up” and “down” to remind her how to brush.Finally it’s time to get into bed. You might want to read a story or look at pictures together. If your child has more language, usethis opportunity to talk about what you did during the day. Here’s another chance for your preschooler to use story telling andrecall past events through language.

Often the time just before going to bed is a quiet time, a reflective time, a time for parent and child to share good feelings. This isa great time to talk to your child about how special she is.

“I love you.”“You’re such a big girl!”“Give me a hug.”“Here’s a big kiss.”“Good night.”

Then it’s time to tuck your little one under the covers, to take off her hearing aids or cochlear implant and to turn off the light.

Household ChoresThere are always things that need to be done around the house. Chores are always with us. They are activities we repeat againand again—every day, every week or every month. It is this repetitiveness of household chores that makes them ideal for teachinglanguage to your child. Your child must hear the same words and phrases over and over again, in a variety of familiar situations,before she will understand them and spontaneously express them.

“Chairs” and “tables” need to be “dusted” and “cleaned.” Chairs have “arms,” and tables and chairs have “legs.” “Dust cloths” can



Doing laundry is a task that is constantly repeated. As you and your youngster sort or fold clothes, you have a great language‑learning activity. Even very young children can help with this. Clothes get “dirty.” They are “washed” and “folded.” Here again youhave opportunities to use words such as “big,” “little,” “Mommy’s,” “Daddy’s” and “Taylor’s.” And every article has a name: “pants,”“shirt,” “sock,” “skirt,” “sweater,” “jacket” and “underwear.” When your child has learned the names for these pieces of clothing,expand her language and teach her new words. “Pants,” for example, might be “slacks,” “shorts,” “jeans,” or “cords.” Talk aboutwhether they are “new” or “old.” They might have “pockets,” “buttons,” “zippers,” “belts” and even “holes.” You can talk about whatcolor clothes are, and whether they are “plaids,” “stripes,” “checks” or “prints.”

Laundry can be sorted and placed in piles by article—pants in one pile, shirts in another. Or they can be sorted by ownership. Mommy’s clothes in one pile, Daddy’s in another, and Jenny’s in still another. “White clothes” can be sorted from the other clothes,too! After the laundry is folded, it must also be put away. Using your child’s help for this will allow you to reinforce language usedearlier.

Many families carry their trash to the curb each week to be picked up and carted away. Let your child help by carrying a small boxor bag to the curb. Let her help take the “lid” off the trash can and put some trash “in.” You might say, “Listen! Here comes thetruck. It’s a big truck.” After the truck has left, “The truck is gone.” If your trash is taken to a dumpster or chute, you’ll use thosewords as the two of you do this task.

be “clean” or “dirty.” They are “big” and “little,” “new” and “old.” Sometimes they even have “holes.” The “top” has to come “off” thecontainer of polish, and “dirt” comes “off” the tables as the “top” is cleaned. “Baskets” get “dumped out” and then they are“empty.” “Floors” are “swept” and “washed.” Sometimes you have to “rub hard.” Dirt is “picked up” in a “dustpan,” and toys are“picked up” and “put away.” And those drawers and closet and cabinet doors are “opened” and “closed” as things are taken out andlater put away.

“Beds” need to be made every day. Here’s a chance to talk about pillows, blankets, sheets, spreads, and quilts. Sheets andblankets are “pulled up” when making beds. You can talk about what color they are: white, blue, yellow, green. When your childcan tell the difference, you can point out if they are “checked” or “striped.” Sometimes there are flowers or pictures on them. Youcan talk about these, too. Beds can be “big” or “little”; they can be “soft” and “warm.” As you make the beds, talk about the sizeand to whom they belong: “This is Mommy’s and Daddy’s bed. It’s big.” “Alex sleeps here. This bed is little.”

Laundry

Working in the YardMost young children delight in helping with outdoor chores, such as digging in the garden, cutting grass, shoveling snow, rakingleaves, and watering the lawn. A small snow shovel, rake or toy lawnmower makes it even more fun. Words and expressions like“push” and “push hard” come up over and over again while mowing or shoveling. Leaves fall down and they are raked, picked upand sometimes put in bags or containers. And, of course, jumping in a pile of leaves is great fun for children of all ages. You canalso talk about their colors: red, green, brown and yellow. Don’t forget to talk about their size! They are big and little. They arebrittle and sometimes they break. You might use leaves to practice counting with your child: “One, two, three, four.”

If you enjoy gardening, allow your child to help you. She will enjoy digging, planting seeds, seedlings or bulbs. Talk to her aboutthe growing plants. Talk about weeding and watering and how that helps the plants. You can encourage your child’s interest ingardening by providing her with a small shovel or hoe and, if possible, even a little garden patch of her very own. Talk about herhard work. Spend a few minutes each day talking about her garden with her as you help her water and watch her garden grow. Perhaps your family lives in an apartment that has a small patio. This is a great place for plants that need “water,” and the dryleaves or flowers need to be “picked” or “cut.” You need to “sweep” the patio and “wash” the furniture, too!

Odd Jobs



Simple things like collecting the mail or the newspaper can be occasions for conversation. They take only a few minutes and a fewsteps, but you can talk about these events before, during and after you have done them. You might say:

“Let’s get the paper.”“Open the door.”“Pick up the paper.”“It’s not heavy.”

Cleaning the garage, tool shed, basement or workshop can provide many topics for conversation. Bundling up old papers andmagazines is a good job for a little helper, and there is a lot to talk about: “Where are the papers?” “Put the magazines on top.” As you tie a knot in the string that holds the papers together, you can say, “Put your finger there.” “What a big helper!” “Thankyou!

If you do minor repairs on your car, your child may want to help by handing you tools. This is another chance to introducelanguage: “Give me the wrench.” “I need the pliers.” “Thank you.” Choose safe activities that allow her to share someresponsibility. Choose tasks simple enough for her to succeed—success will make her feel good about herself.While you are working around the car, mention the names of various parts of the car to your child: the steering wheel, the trunk,the hood, the engine, the horn, the wheels, the doors, the windows and the tires. Talk about getting “in” the car and “under” it asyou work. Your child may not understand at first, but all this conversation is another step in helping her learn language. The sameword can be used in different situations. For example, the door of the car looks quite different from the door of the house or thedoor to the cupboard. Yet all doors are “opened” or “closed.”

Thinking AheadSpend a few minutes in the evening to think about tomorrow. What are you and your child likely to do? Which of the many thingsthat you could do will be of most interest to your child? How can you make your everyday tasks enjoyable for both of you? Whatsort of language is likely to come up? How many times will you and your child be able to use the language? You might be planningto do the laundry or go to the doctor. Will the weather be nice enough to go outdoors? It might be a good day for a picnic in thebackyard, or to take a walk to the store to buy some bread.

Ask yourself these questions. As you think about “tomorrow” tasks, will there be times when you can reinforce the language yourpreschooler has been learning? Can you use in a different way some language that your child is learning? If mashed potatoes havebeen a topic of conversation at mealtime, going shopping for potatoes provides another situation for talking about potatoes —baking them, frying them or boiling them.

Think of new activities to have conversations using “old” language, and think of new language to be used with “old” activities. Whether activities are new or old for your child, opportunities for new language will come up. For example, when working in thegarden, “bug” can be expanded to “lady bug.” When making the bed, you can “fluff” the pillow.You will find that you enjoy including your child in many of the things you do. You will discover what fun it is to share with her allthe experiences and language that make up everyday life. Plan to do things that are fun for you, too. Baking cookies is fun formost children, but if you simply do not like to bake cookies, choose another acitivity to do with your child. It will be more fun foryour child if it is fun for you, too.

Social DevelopmentTeach the language needed to participate in age‑appropriate games.

The Home Provides the FoundationYour home is the first and most important place where your child will learn social expectations, cultural practices and values. Aspart of your family, your child first learns about herself and then about others. There are several kinds of relationships in a family:



Your relationship with your child and other children will help your child understand how other authority figures (such as teachers)might treat her. Set rules for her best interests. Discipline her when necessary, keeping her rights and needs in mind. As you dothese things, it will be easier for her to develop a positive attitude toward all authority figures. Respect for her feelings will makethe relationships you have with her and your other children even stronger.

The relationships your child has now with her siblings or neighborhood playmates provide her first opportunity to learn how tointeract with her peers. This will be important to her throughout her childhood years, and as she moves into adulthood, as well.

Naturally you want your child to play happily with her friends. However, language limitations can create a challenge. It is duringthese preschool years that you will begin to guide your little one in learning how to interact with her peers.

If your child is very young, you can invite another child and her parent over for a play date. This is your opportunity to explain tothe other parent how her child can best communicate with yours. She will probably be more comfortable explaining to her ownchild how to interact. Keep your suggestions short and begin with just one or two. As the two of you watch your children playingtogether, you might hear her say, “Joey, don’t forget that Tommy can’t hear you when you aren’t looking at him. Remember to getcloser so he can hear you better. He is learning to listen. Help him.” “Karen, show Brenda how to use that toy. She didn’tunderstand all your words.” As children grow up together, they naturally learn the best ways to communicate with one another. Your guidance and positive attitude will set the foundation.

The keys to helping your own children learn to play together are to reinforce, to model and to praise. (This is done while childrenare playing together.) You reinforce and model when you say, “Good for you, Tom. You remembered to show Jimmy the picturewhile you told him about it.” Praise might be, “I love how you are both playing with that truck. You’re sharing. That’s fantastic!” Your smile reinforces your spoken message.Let the children play naturally. As they play, provide the help they might need. Most children learn in this matter‑of‑fact andcomfortable situation.

Your child might prefer to interact with adults because they are more patient in trying to understand her. However, the ability torelate to adults does not necessarily transfer to playing with other children. Children have their own rules and their own interactionskills. Adults must step back. Your little one needs the opportunity to play with others her own age and to speak for herself.

For example, your little one is able to play with a friend using one toy with simple social contact. They have a toy garage and atruck that your child’s friend is pushing. Your child wants to push the truck. She reaches out and her friend pulls away. They arecommunicating in a non‑linguistic manner.

The next stage, then, is for your child to begin using her expressive language to communicate and you will help in this process. Model the correct language for your child by saying, “May I have the truck?” Her friend will probably say, “No.” What is importantat this point is that they are communicating and that you have guided your preschooler in her communication. She has expressedherself! Remember that some social interactions between children involve negotiating the play situation. You can model, “Let’s

between parents; between parent and child; and between the children. While each relationship is different, mutual respect shouldbe at the core of each. Help your child understand the actions of other family members or friends. She will learn best by yourexample. Through observing what you do, your child will learn how her actions or words can make others happy or sad. Yourmodel will help her understand feelings or ideas that are difficult to explain to any young child.

Relationships Between Parent and Child

Interacting with Friends at School and in Playgroups



take turns.” Allow the other youngster to reply and it will probably be, “Okay. Me first.” Again, you will model an appropriateresponse such as, “First it’s your turn; then it’s my turn.”

It is very tempting to be too involved in modeling language for your child. The key is to strike a balance. Let the childrencommunicate as best as they can and only model language to help them move on to another stage.

No matter what age your child begins preschool, she needs to be prepared for the language that her friends will be using as theyplay: “That’s mine!” “He hit me.” “You’re it.” “Take turns.” “Line up.” “I fell down.” These are all very important for her now. How do you teach her this language of interaction?

One method for teaching “playground vocabulary” is to use books. Find pictures of children playing together and talk about them. If there is a park or playground nearby, spend time just watching youngsters play. Using short, simple sentences, describe theaction: “They’re running. They’re playing tag.” “She’s up to bat.” “He made a goal.” “Oh! She’s out.” “They’re jumping rope.” Asyou talk about what’s happening, your words will have meaning for your child. Help your preschooler understand what ishappening and help her learn how to tell you about it.

Looking at pictures or at other children playing is not the same as “real life.” It might be difficult for her to transfer her bookknowledge to her experiences. This is when it becomes even more important for you to make your home a center of activity foryour child and her friends. Invite them over frequently. Then, help your child use language for her interactions. Any child whodoes not have the appropriate language may use gestures, and so will yours. Your job now will be to give her the language: “Myturn.” “I go first.” “You win.” It will take many opportunities to listen, but the words will become part of her vocabulary as youguide her in interacting more and more with other children.

TeasingMany parents worry about their preschooler being teased, and many children are teased. It might be about their glasses, weight,noses, teeth, or their hearing aids or cochlear implant.

To enable your youngster to face other children’s teasing, she needs to have a good sense of self‑esteem. Praise her for what shedoes well. She runs fast. She draws well. She can set the table for dinner. Let her know that everyone is good at different things.

Your attitude and the attitudes of brothers, sisters and cousins are the most important. If you think of your child as unfortunate inany way, she will learn to play that role. Your child can still do chores and be responsible for herself. She may not hear well, butshe is just like all the others in the family when it comes to behavior and expectations.Most important is that your child has a good base of love and understanding at home. When she comes home, she must feel safe,understood and valued. She must be able to communicate and she must be an integral part of the family. When she feels goodabout herself and confident of her abilities, your child will not be adversely affected by teasing now or as she gets older.

Vocabulary of School Play

C) SPEECHIn Lesson Four we talked about duration, intensity and pitch. This is the time to look at your notebook again and consider yourchild’s development in these areas. The routines of daily life are the perfect opportunity to reinforce and encourage these speechskills, and continuing to write and review notes will help you assess progress.

Many families have a little “Clean‑up Song” which they sing while putting away toys. You can make up your own using anymelody. It might go like this:

Time to clean up. Time to clean up.



Everyone! Everyone!Time to clean up. Now we’re done. Now we’re done.

Remember to think about intensity as you sing loudly and softly. This is a challenge for any young child. Model for yourpreschooler as you sing first and then encourage her to try. Then practice duration and make some of the sounds short. “Cleanup, Clean up.” Make other sounds long, “Everyooonne!” Pitch is part of any song and you move from high to low notes. Nomatter how your child sounds, tell her she’s doing a wonderful job!

As you follow the same routine each day, you can repeat many of the same words. For example, “Brush your teeth.” Soon yourchild will begin to use these same words, although at first only you might understand them. She might say, “Ba eee” in an attemptto imitate, “Brush teeth.” You can help with her speech development by repeating these words in natural conversation. Do notexaggerate the sounds or make her look at you while exaggerating them. This will only confuse your child. As you exaggeratesounds, they become distorted, not only as she hears them, but also as she sees them in speech reading. Instead, put yourself atyour child’s level. Then speak clearly and naturally.

In Lesson Five, you were listening to your child’s speech productions during play. Listen carefully to your child’s vowels. Are theyclear and natural sounding? Are there lots of variations? Remember that children with normal hearing learn to produce vowelsthrough listening, and that their beginning productions may not be perfect. To encourage variety, continue to introduce speechsounds during play and everyday living. How is your child’s speech on vowels such as /ee/ in “peep‑peep” and /oo/ in “boo‑boo?” Listen carefully, especially for anything unusual, such as nasality.

How about these sounds?/a/ as in mama/e/ as in wet/i/ as in hit/o/ as in no/ae/ as in pat

Let us know how your child produces these vowel sounds. If it is difficult for you describe these productions, ask someone in yourfamily to help! Remember, therapists and teachers will come and go in your child’s life. YOU are the constant. You can learn tolisten to your child’s speech and language productions and make a difference.

Throughout their development, children’s understanding exceeds speech production by quite a lot. For example, children who aretwo years old understand two or three times more words than they are capable of saying. During the first year of acquiringvocabulary (from 12 to 30 months) children learn an average of one word per day. Based on this, children of two and a half yearsunderstand approximately 400 to 500 words. In general, a child needs to hear a word 10 or 12 times before beginning to say it. Towards 18 months of age, children experience an explosion of vocabulary which coincides with the beginning of grammaticalconstruction. The speech production curve reaches its maximum towards the end of the preschool period. A large part ofvocabulary growth is due to a child’s ability to produce a word because of knowing another (run, runner, running).

VIDEO CLIP & IDEAS FOR EXTRA LEARNINGView brief video clip celebrating the progress of JTC preschooler enjoying sound fun with a parent.



Discuss similarities and differences in common objects and sounds.

View a video clip from an individual speech language session involving storytelling.

LISTENING: Who’s Talking?Purpose of the Game: To give your child practice in listening for the differences between a man’s voice and a woman’s voice (pitch differences).

What You Need:Two adults, a man and a womanYour child

What to Do:1. Think in advance about any opportunity your child has to hear male and female adult voices. This might be during dinner, orwhile the family is gathered together in the evening.

2. As each family member speaks during dinner or a gathering, be sure to point that person out to your child. For example,“Listen. Daddy is talking. He says he wants more potatoes. Let’s give Daddy some potatoes.” Daddy might need to repeat hisrequest after you have your child’s attention.



Purpose of the Game:To introduce your child to the words used for comparisons and those used to describe amounts

What You Need:Several small cups of plastic or metal (Clear, soft plastic is best, as it will not break like glass and your child will be able to see howmuch is inside the containers. Be sure that the containers are small enough so your child will be able to handle them easily. At leasttwo should be the same size.)

A sandbox or sand pile (If you do not have a sandbox, or just wish to do this activity indoors, you can use salt or cornmeal in placeof sand. A sandbox in a park or playground can also be used.)

If the activity is done indoors, it helps to use a large tray with newspapers underneath to catch the spills.

What to Do:

1. Sit next to your child in the sandbox. Give her two containers that are the same size. Fill a third larger container with enoughsand to fill the smaller two. As you do so, give your child the language for the things you are using and what you are doing:

“This is empty.”“This one is empty, too.” “Mama has some sand.” “Look at all the sand.”

2. Help your child pour the sand from the larger container into the smaller ones. Use language such as:

“Let’s pour the sand.”“It’s full.”“Fill this one.”

3. Later in the meal, be sure to point out another voice. Daddy might say, “Listen. Mommy is asking for something. What doesshe want?”

Variation:Use a tape recorder and pictures of a man and woman. To prepare for this activity, record voices of men and women speaking invarying order: first the man says a sentence, then the woman, then the man has two turns, and so on. Leave a few seconds ofsilence between each one. Stop and start the machine between presentations. In addition to voices of Mommy and Daddy, you canrecord the voices of grandparents, aunts, uncles, neighbors, etc. Take pictures of the “speakers” to use in your game.

A greeting such as “HI SWEETIE” or “HOW ARE YOU?” can be used. Your child can respond after each sentence by pointing to, orputting a token on, the appropriate picture. You will want to use voices and pictures of people who are familiar to your child.

If Your Child Is Ready: Advanced Listening SkillsHave familiar people call you at prearranged times on the telephone. Using pictures of your relatives or friends, encourage yourchild to distinguish the voice and decide who is speaking. (The success of this game will largely depend on your child’s hearingloss.)

LANGUAGE: Measuring and Pouring



“Now it’s full.”“They’re the same.

3. Pour the sand back into the larger container and continue the activity by using a variety of containers. Encourage your child tochoose different‑sized containers in which to pour sand.

“Now you pour it.”“Let’s fill this one.”

4. If your child has some spontaneous expressive language, let her tell you what to do!

Variations:1. After your child fills one container, take a similar one and pour less sand in that one. Then, you might say:

“Look, they’re not the same.”“This one has more.”“This one has less.”“You have more sand.”“I have less sand.”

2. Give your child many opportunities throughout the day to pour during household routines. For example, let your child helpduring cooking activities. Perhaps she could fill a cup with rice and pour it into a pot. Then, she can observe how the same amountlooks different when it is in different containers. When you are baking, let her measure and pour flour, sugar, milk and otheringredients.

“Pour the milk.”“Oh, we need some flour.”“We need a little more water.”

Your child can also help pour mouthwash into a glass, bird food into a bird feed, dog food into a dog dish, dishwashing liquid intothe sink full of water; or laundry detergent or softener into the washing machine. Your conversation might include:

“Fluffy needs some food.” “Pour some into the bowl.” “Fill the dish.” “It’s full.” “Pour it in.”

3. Give your child opportunities to measure and pour on her own during playtime as well. She will enjoy pouring sand in thesandbox and pouring water while in the tub or wading pool. Allow her to use a variety of containers of different shapes and sizes,as well as funnels, spoons and other tools.

If Your Child Is Ready: Advanced Language and Skills

1. When you are pouring sand into two containers of the same size, you can ask:

“Which has more?”“Which has less?”



“Which has the most sand?”

Other appropriate terms to use as your child’s language grows are: A LOT and A LITTLE BIT. You can also introduce MANY and AFEW by using quantities of beans, macaroni, jelly beans, small pebbles, pennies, etc.

2. When giving your child a glass of milk, pour just a little in her glass. Pause. Then say:

“Here’s your milk.” After she finishes and hands you the glass, ask her: “Do you want more?”“Do you want more milk?”

3. Let your child fill her cereal bowl for breakfast. Fill your bowl (or a brother’s or sister’s) with a different amount. Ask her:

“Which has more?”“Which has less?”“Show me more.”“Show me less.”

Of course, if she is not ready to do this, give her the language:

“You have more.”“Daddy has less.”“Jeremy has the most cereal.”

SPEECH: Loud Voice, Soft VoicePurpose of the Game: To encourage your child to imitate loud and soft voices

What You Need:Toy animals from a barnyard toy set, such as a large and small dog or a large and small cow

Or pictures cut from a magazine of a large and small dog (cat, fish, truck etc.) and pasted on separate Popsicle sticks

What to Do:1. Move the big dog and say in a loud voice, “WOOF! WOOF!”

2. Then give the dog to your child and say, “Now you do it. Make the dog bark.” Help her by using your own voice if she doesnot respond.

3. Next, take the small dog and say in a soft voice, “Woof Woof.” Give this dog to your child and ask her to make it bark.

4. Praise your child for her efforts and continue playing with the animals as you both make loud and soft sounds. Converse withyour child: Point to the small dog and say, “What does he say? He says, ‘Woof, woof.’” “Here’s the big dog. He says, ‘WOOF,WOOF!’”

If Your Child Is Ready: Advanced Language and SkillsWhen your child is consistently successful in imitating your loud and soft voices, add a whisper. Tell your child that the small dog



Purpose of the Activity:

To listen and learn the language involved in making the bedTo participate in helping out with daily chores

What to Do:1. Let your child help you make her bed.

2. In the course of the activity, have a conversation with your child.

“Here’s a blue blanket. How does it feel?”“What shall we do next?” “You’re right. We need the pillows.”

3. You can also stress certain words such as: “Pull the sheets” (blankets, spread). “Fold the sheet” (or the blanket) as you turn itdown. “Smooth the sheet” as you complete the task.

4. Remember, the goal for now is not to have your child make a perfect bed. Concentrate on spending some enjoyable time withyour child to help her learn the language associated with bed making, and on giving her a sense of accomplishment as sheparticipates in the work of the family. (If the bed needs to be tidied or remade, do it later when your child is busy with otherthings.)

Variations:1. You may wish to hide some small toys UNDER THE COVERS BEFORE YOU BEGIN making the bed. You can share your child’sexcitement as you discover each “lump” in the bed. Choose things such as a ball, car, doll, puzzle piece or anything thatcorresponds with words your child knows or is learning.

Siblings might enjoy this game as well. Have each child take a turn and find a toy. Older siblings might also enjoy choosing whichtoys to hide and place under the covers.But don’t forget to talk about what your child finds.

“Wow! What is that?” “Is that your red truck?” “I feel something. What is it?”

2. Have your child put a stuffed animal or doll to bed, and then later wake up the doll. Now you and your child can make the bed,using all of the language you have been teaching her as a part of this routine.

3. When you are stripping the bed before washing the sheets, your child might enjoy a simple game of “Hide and Seek,” especiallyif an older sibling can first play the game. Throw a sheet over the older child’s head and ask, “WHERE’S JENNIFER?” When your olderchild removes the sheet, you can say, “HERE SHE IS.” If this type of activity would not frighten your child, encourage her to play, orhelp her again hide her brother or sister. This game may not be appropriate for a child with very little residual hearing.

is sleeping. In a whisper say, “Shhh….be quiet. Don’t wake him!” Exchange a comment or two in a whisper. Then say, “Time towake up the puppy. Use a LOUD voice.”

AN EVERYDAY ACTIVITY: Making the Bed



When the older child is still under the sheet, you can take the opportunity to point out facial features through the sheet; “THERE’SJUDY’S HEAD,” “OH, HERE’S HER NOSE.” “CAN YOU FIND JUDY’S FEET?”

If Your Child Is Ready: Advanced Language and SkillsAs your child learns some of the basic language for bed making, expand what you say:

“Put the quilt on the bed.” “Put the pillow near the headboard.” “Oh, the bed’s all mussed.”

Purpose of the Activity:To learn new language during action‑oriented playTo interact casually with your child as she rides her tricycle or other wheeled toyTo promote pretend play

What You Need:

A THINKING ACTIVITY: Changing ColorsTo prepare for this activity, think about colors created by mixing paints, such as red and blue to make purple, and try to find toysor stuffed animals of that color.

Purpose of the Activity: To practice making choicesTo learn about mixing colorsTo learn language during an art/craft activity, particularly colors

What You NeedA sheet of white paper and various colors of water‑based paints

What to Do:1. Put out a few sheets of white paper and closed containers of paints (you will be opening and using them yourself). Tell yourchild, “Let’s make new colors. We will mix our paint!”

2. Put some red paint on the paper and say to your child, “Look, here is some red paint.” If she wants to immediately begin tosmear the paint, that’s OK. Hold the blue paint and say, “Here is some blue paint. I’m going to put on some blue paint.”

3. Add some blue paint near the red and say, “Let’s mix the paint. What will happen?”

4. As soon as your child begins to mix the colors, tell her, “You made a new color. The color is purple.” Point to the red paintand say, “No more red.” Point to the blue paint and say, “No more blue.” Point to the new color and say, “This is purple. We madepurple paint.”

5. If you have a purple toy, bring it out and show your child. “Your truck is purple. The paint is purple. You made purple paint.”

You can repeat this with various colors, such as yellow and blue to make green or red and yellow to make orange.

PLAYTIME ACTIVITY: Imaginative Play on a Tricycle



Your child’s wheeled riding toyA chairA cardboard box (for a gasoline pump)A small piece of hose, if available (Or a thick piece of rope) A rag

When to Play:Anytime after your child has had experience at a real gas station or repair center with a real vehicle.

What To Do:1. Place the cardboard box near an area where your child is riding her tricycle. Call her and indicate you would like her to “driveover.” Use the cardboard box as the gasoline pump. The short piece of hose could serve as the nozzle as you “gas up” her vehicle.You could also “wash” her “windshield” with the rag, and check the oil, tires, and so on.

2. While you are “servicing” the vehicle, you will have many opportunities to use phrases such as:

“Do you need gas?” “I’ll fill it up.” “Turn it on.” (The gas pump) “How many gallons?” “Uh oh, you need oil!” “The tires need air.” “$5.00, please.”

Variations:1. Your child might like to bring her vehicle in for “repairs.” You could pretend to change tires, by working on them with yourtools and then giving them a good spin. You can fix the “engine,” etc. Or, you might want to set up a small “car wash.”

2. If she is playing with friends, you might set up a small parking lot with each child’s name on a space. Direct each one to park.Then, perhaps everyone could sit down for a small treat.

If Your Child Is Ready: Advanced Language and Skills1. Give your child a chance to be the gas station attendant. You could pull a wagon or other wheeled toy into your child’s“station.” Give her the opportunity for conversation:

“Fill it up?’“$10.00, please.”

2. When you visit a real gas station, you might give your child the opportunity to tell the attendant:

“Five gallons, please.”As your child hands the attendant the money, she can say, “Thank you!”

E) SUMMARY

Make a list of household sounds to teach your child.

Think ahead to the next daily routine and the language you will use.

Play common age‑appropriate games with your child and focus on the language she will use.



Ask your child’s teacher about classroom routines and practice that language with your preschooler.

Try to present the question first by hearing.


Valuing Routines

Power of Routines

Go to the Next LessonYES! You have completed reading Lesson 6: Daily Routines. Now try some ideas with your child. Consider sharing questions andsuccesses using the yellow box on any page. Your changing concerns and your child’s increasing skills will be saved in “reportsI’ve sent.” You can use these forms to show service providers or family and celebrate progress together. Then proceed to Lesson 7:Seasonal Fun so this course becomes an individualized guide or go back to the Preschool Course content to select another module.


Lesson 7: Seasonal FunA) LISTENINGYour preschooler should now be moving from simple detection to identification to comprehension of sounds. Your child doesn’tjust hear a sound; he understands it and can respond to it. By now, that response may also consist of spoken language.

Remember that “identification” is the ability to name by repeating or writing what is heard. Identification is the result of pitch,intensity, duration, acoustic information, and suprasegmentals (the sing‑song quality of our speech). Included in this areindividual sounds of speech. “Comprehension” is the ability to understand the significance of speech and language by respondingto questions, following instructions, adding comments and completely participating in a conversation. At this level, a child’sanswers are not just repetition of words, but instead use his own phrases and language.

Holidays and celebrations provide the perfect opportunity to help your preschooler develop his listening skills. You will want tobegin early as you teach your child songs that the family will sing. For example, you might talk about an upcoming birthday party,look at pictures and books about birthdays, and then sing “Happy Birthday” together. Make it even more fun with noisemakerssuch as bells or a spoon on the lid of a pot.

Some cultures celebrate holidays with a parade. It’s fun to have a parade of your own and even more fun if family and friends joinin. Make a mini‑parade in the backyard and march in time to the music.

Celebrations can be noisy! Think about sounds inside your house when you celebrate a special occasion. Friends ring the doorbellwhen they come to visit. You might say, “What did you hear?” Wait for a response. Possibly your child will point to the door, andyou can then provide the language: “You heard the doorbell. That’s the doorbell.” Because he understands the sound, he shouldsoon be understanding your words, and then expressing them himself. Encourage him to answer your question, “What should wedo?” If he does not respond, provide the answer: “Who’s here? Let’s answer the door.”

Noisemakers, traditional music, laughter—these are some of the sounds heard during holidays and special celebrations. Althoughyou are very busy during this time, think about the sounds around you and take an extra minute to point them out to your child.You might also want to make a list of holiday phrases that your child can learn. “Happy Birthday,” “Happy Channukah,” “MerryChristmas,” “Trick or Treat” are a few you might use. Remember that your child must hear your words and understand their


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meaning before he will begin to say them himself. In other words, he must have receptive vocabulary before it becomesexpressive. Remember to use intonation to help: “Happy BIRTHday” can be said in a sing‑song voice to make the words easier foryour little one to understand. Also, on occasion speak close to the microphone of his amplification so that he hears you as clearlyas possible.

Most families have a gift‑giving routine which uses specific language. “This is for you!” “Thank you very much.” Encourage yourchild to listen as other family members speak and respond. Then model the correct language.

There are also many outdoor sounds to enjoy as the seasons pass. During fall, you and your child can crunch leaves on the yard orsidewalk. Take a few leaves home and paste them in a book, then talk about that sound.

In winter, you can listen to the wind blowing, or the crunching sound as you walk in the snow. When rain falls, listen to it hittingthe pavement, the roof, or the hood of the car. Is it loud or very, very soft? Thunderstorms provide wonderful listeningopportunities. Open the window and enjoy the noise!

Spring and summer generally mean warmer weather, and this may also mean an outing to a lake, river or even the ocean. Helpyour child listen for the sound the water makes: the rushing of the river, the lapping of little waves at a lake, the crash of big wavesat the ocean. Other spring and summer sounds about which your preschooler can learn: chirping of birds, the roar of the mower,the song of crickets in the evening.

Listen! Enjoy the sounds yourself and then talk, talk, talk about all of these sounds to your preschooler. Take pictures for anexperience book or find a library book to look at as you talk about what you hear. Your child needs to know about everything thatmakes noise in his world.

B) LANGUAGETeach new words that are part of seasons and holidays.

Making Experience BooksExperience books are wonderful teaching tools to use with young children who have a hearing loss. Depending on your child’sage, your books will vary in length from three to eight pages.

Your camera will become very important during any holiday or celebration. Whether it is a national or religious holiday or a culturalor family celebration, you want your preschooler to be an active participant in the event. Pictures can help make this happen. Asspecial days approach, think about photos you can use to make your youngster an experience book. Each year, you will updateexperience books and enjoy them with your preschooler. In addition to photographs, you can draw pictures or cut them out ofmagazines and old coloring books.

An experience book about the celebration of a birthday is a good example, as it is an event celebrated in most countries andcultures. Begin about two weeks before the celebration. Ask your local library or bookstore if they can recommend a storybookwith pictures that you can use to talk about a birthday party. If none are available, use snapshots from family birthdaycelebrations. These will work well, too.

You might want to find photos of the friends who will come to your little one’s party. Include hand‑drawn sketches of items oractivities for which you cannot find pictures. Show your child the photos and the pictures in the book as you say things like:

“Here are your friends. They will come to your birthday party.”“Grandma and Grandpa are coming to say happy birthday to you.”“Yum! Ice cream and cake!”



Think about each season and what your child can learn. Your child may wear a hat outside that cover his hearing aids or cochlearimplant microphone and he may not hear your voice clearly. Don’t let that stop you from talking to him! Now is the time to getdown to his level. Your voice will be stronger when you are very near to him. You can continue to encourage new vocabulary.

During the fall maybe the wind blows through the trees and there is a swishing sound of leaves. Then leaves fall to the ground andmake a crunching noise as you walk on them. Rake them into a pile and jump in it. This is an opportunity to develop listeningskills. Talk a walk together, talk about the sounds you hear, the colors you see and the wind you feel.

Maybe the neighborhood children are playing soccer. Talk about the game and what they are doing. “He kicked the ball. Wow, heis a fast runner.” Children like to play games with balls. Bring the family together, talk about what ball game you will play andthen have fun. In some places, winter might bring cold weather, rain or snow. This weather could mean wearing coats and boots. “It’s snowingoutside. Let’s catch the flakes as they fall. We can make snowballs. Where are your gloves? OK, let’s pack the snow and roll it. Wecould make a snowman.” Narrate what you are doing, encourage conversation and ask questions. If your child decides to roll inthe snow instead of building a snowman, follow his lead and start a new conversation. Talk about how snow feels cold and wet. Hockey might be a game children are playing with sticks and balls on an icy or snowy surface. Talk about everything as he learnsduring this exciting time.

Spring provides another time to listen. Can your child hear the rain as it splashes on his umbrella, off the roof or in a puddle? Walk together in the rain and talk about it. Rain can wash away dust, fill up creeks and make the grass very wet. Now you arehelping your child develop language and thinking skills.

Spring is an opportunity to use color words. “Let’s find red flowers. Is that bloom light yellow or dark yellow? What’s your favorite

“A piñata for your birthday!”

Include your preschooler when you make or buy the party invitations. Take him with you when you buy the decorations and let himhelp choose the plates and tablecloth. Take a snapshot of your child with his selection. Involve him in all the preparations and talkto him about his special day:

“It’s your birthday!”“We’re having your birthday party!”

A few days before his party, show him pictures of a cake and candles. Show pictures of the children who will attend. And, mostimportant, teach him the “Happy Birthday” song that is used in your family or culture. Sing it over and over together so your childlearns the words and melody. As your child begins to learn this song, sing along with him and then stop and wait for him to finishthe song by himself.

The big day arrives! Involve your child in every preparation possible. Show him the cake and candles. Explain and show picturesfrom books so he understands what he will do. Sing a birthday song or whatever music accompanies your family celebration. Again show pictures of his friends and talk about presents. Your little one is ready. Now it’s time to have fun.

Throughout the preparation activities and the celebration, keep your camera handy. You can use your snapshots to add to andupdate your child’s experience book for birthdays and other special celebrations. Of course, experience books will be about anytopic that is of interest to your child.

Seasons



color?” You might decide to do some planting together. You can talk about how dirt and rocks feel or how big or small the seedslook. Pat the dirt with your shovel. Can you hear that sound?

Summer may bring warm weather with much to talk about and do. You can describe how the temperature feels, the sky looks andthe outdoor noises sound. Maybe there are birds chirping, lawn equipment motors running or people shouting. Children might beplaying group games that you can watch and join. “Listen to them laughing. They are having fun together.”

Your child may swim in the summer. Before he gets into the water, explain what he will do. His instruction may need to includevisual information. Get in with him and show him. Finally it’s his turn. Have fun as he masters this skill. Swimming is a chance touse words including near/far, deep/shallow, under/around and warm/cold.

Playing in water is great fun, but most hearing aids and cochlear implants should not get wet. Plan to remove amplification devicesbefore water activities. Your child will not hear your voice without his hearing aids or cochlear implant. This is a time when youmay want to use a few formal signs or informal gestures to help him follow your directions. You might also use pictures to depictguidelines for not being allowed in the deep end of the pool or staying with a grown‑up at the beach.

Every season can be an opportunity for another experience book. You can take photos of activities of your child throughout theyear. The books can be read to review the fun you had and expand on the language associated with the special activities of theseasons.

Holidays and CelebrationsBy now your little one has experienced birthday parties, national holidays, and religious and ethnic celebrations. As a baby, hehappily participated in these occasions with very little understanding. Now it is time to help him participate more fully. When yourchild is fully involved in holidays and celebrations, he will learn the language associated with them. This is the time to make him apart of the activities. Be observant and follow his lead.

Maybe your little fellow likes the decorations. Let him be involved by helping you take them out of the boxes. Help him unwrap oropen items and talk to him about what he is doing. Name the item and describe it. Tell him how you will use it. When he isinterested in what you are doing together, you can be sure that he will be interested in listening and in talking about it, too.

Cooking is an important part of many events. Although it will mean extra time, your child’s involvement in preparing traditionalfoods will help make your holidays more meaningful to him. Show pictures of the foods you are planning to prepare. Maybe youwill want to focus on one special dish and just go shopping for those ingredients with your child.

You can make a list or cards with a picture of each ingredient. “We need sugar, flour and eggs.” Your child’s shopping list wouldinclude a small picture beside the word. Let him hold his list as you shop together. You can say things like:

“Now we need flour.”“Let’s find the eggs. Careful! The eggs will break! Put them in the cart.”

When you get home, remember to talk as you work. You will talk again about what you bought as you put away your groceries. When it’s time to prepare the dish, your “helper” can assist you in getting the bowl, spoon, measuring cups and the ingredients. When it’s time to eat, your little fellow will love to carry his special dish to the table. Everyone will definitely tell him what a goodcook he is.

Almost every celebration has special songs. Since singing is a wonderful way to help your child’s speech development, try to spendtime each day for a couple of weeks in advance singing with him. It’s even more fun if you can act out the song, so use somefinger play or movement to help him understand the words. You might even choose a special time each evening for the family to



Your little one might know that a special event is coming, but he might not understand that he must wait until next week or evenjust tomorrow. Young children need a variety of experiences to develop their concept of time. One important way children learnabout time is through daily routine. For example, they soon understand that playtime follows breakfast and getting dressed.

Celebrations and holidays mean changes in routine, but these changes can become an expected part of his life if you explain themto your preschooler.

The concepts of today, tomorrow and yesterday can be taught by making your own calendar. This is an idea to get you started. Atfirst, at the end of each day, take a small sheet of paper to illustrate something that happened that day. Events that seem ordinaryto adults are often quite significant to children: a hurt knee, finding a feather, the visit of a neighborhood playmate or having icecream. Any of these may be the day’s highlight for your child. You may decide to use a photograph, a sketch, a picture cut from amagazine, or even a prop—a feather, a bandage, a piece of popped balloon—whatever is appropriate for the event. To increaseyour child’s exposure to the printed word, write a short sentence under the picture, too. This will help him develop pre‑readingskills. Talk about the event. Ask simple questions and encourage your child to use any words he knows during the conversation.

Each of these pictures will now become a square on a very simple calendar you make together. At first, use the calendar withouttrying to teach your child the names of the days of the week. Just expose him to your little drawings or pictures with a briefsentence under it. You can make small cardboard or paper tags that say “today,” “yesterday,” and “tomorrow” to attach to eachday’s space on the calendar. You won’t expect him to read the tags, but the exposure to the printed word is helpful.

Try to use the same language from day to day to talk about the same event, both before it happens and after it occurs. One dayyou can say, “Today Jeffrey raced his trucks.” “Yesterday Jeffrey ate a hot dog.” “Tomorrow we will go to the zoo.” The next dayyou could change your language to, “Yesterday Jeffrey raced his trucks.” “Today we went to the zoo.” “Tomorrow we will goswimming.” Crossing off each day as it goes by will also help your child understand the passage of time.

sing together. Show him a picture or two of the upcoming celebration to help him associate the song with the event.

Keep things simple.

Holidays and celebrations are busy times, and each member of the family has obligations. You might be thinking that it’simpossible to give extra attention to your little child. Yet you can involve him in family activities, even if it’s only for a fewminutes.

Follow his lead. If he becomes engrossed in one decoration, talk to him about it. Talk about the color, how pretty it is, how muchhe likes it. If you are baking and he focuses on measuring cups, take a minute to talk about using them and let him pour somewater. The time you take will shape your child’s understanding of these important experiences and continue his listening,language and speech development.

As you help your child learn about different holidays, ceremonies and celebrations, you will want to use the same words andphrases over and over. Repetition, preparation, language and involvement are the keys to your child’s understanding of theimportant events in his life.

All About Time

C) SPEECHAs you have progressed through our lessons, you have noted the emphasis on a child’s wearing hearing aids or his cochlearimplant during all waking hours. This is because your preschooler needs to have as much access to the sounds of speech as



possible.

If your child has aided hearing levels of 50 dB in the low frequencies only, he will be aware of voice, and the intensity and durationof speech sounds. However, he will not understand words, for speech will not be clear enough to learn to talk without speechreading.

If your child has aided hearing levels of 40 to 50 dB in the mid frequencies, he will be aware of some vowels. He will be able todiscriminate specific vowels such as /a/ and /u/.

If your child has aided hearing levels of 30 dB in the high frequencies up to 4000 Hz, he will be able to identify all vowels andconsonants.

Children develop speech sounds in a specific order beginning with vowels, consonants and then consonant blends. Babies beginwith the vowel sound of /ah/ because it is very neutral and relaxed. Gradually the /e/ sound emerges as a baby develops moremuscle control. The development of consonant sounds is also the result of muscle and breath control.

A child’s first word approximations are usually single vowels such as /e/ for “eat,” single syllables such as /ni/ for “Good night,” orrepeated syllables like ‘nana’ for banana. The next step is to add beginning or ending consonants or to increase the number ofsyllables. So, /ni/ might become /ga‑ni/ and finally “good night.” If your child’s amplification provides access to all speechsounds, your child will follow the same pattern of speech development as a child with normal hearing.

Your child will need a therapist who has a very specialized education, training her to work on speech development for children whoare hearing impaired. Regular speech/language therapists are specialists in working with children who have normal hearing. It isvery important to talk to your therapist to determine her education and training. She must be educated to teach children who havea hearing loss.

One of the best methodologies that your child’s teacher or therapist can use was developed by Dr Daniel Ling, Ph.D. His worksprovide speech teaching models and strategies written specifically for teachers of children who have a hearing loss. You mightwant to ask your child’s teacher if she is using this approach.

In order to assure the success of any program for your child, it is important that all of the activities and progress are based onhierarchies of the development of listening, speech, language, natural communication and cognition that occur for all children. Auditory‑Verbal therapists have developed programs and activities using this hierarchy based on a child’s development andchronological age. If a child consistently has difficulty with the activities, it is probable that the therapist is not following thenatural development of a child of his age.

To develop spoken language through audition, one needs to base therapy on a sequential program of development. For example,in an initial program, the therapist will use a great variety of vocalizations in a sing‑song manner. As Dr Ling has indicated, whena child learns to listen, his speech and language production improves, also. When a child is capable of producing sounds or usingsyllables in specific activities, he will be motivated to use these same sounds in natural spoken language. The activities oflanguage are based on the hierarchies of development as well as the individual child’s abilities.Not all children have the same residual hearing or the same amount of gain from their hearing aids. It is important to know achild’s exact hearing levels as he progresses through spoken language development.

VIDEO CLIP & IDEAS FOR EXTRA LEARNINGView brief video clip celebrating the progress of JTC preschooler enjoying song time with a parent.



Try music and drawing to facilitate creative learning.

LISTENING: Song TimePurpose of the Game:To help your child learn that listening to a wide variety of speech sounds with varying duration, intensity and pitch can be fun

What You Need: Nursery rhymes or songsOptional: CDs of nursery songs; musical instrument(s)

When to play: Any quiet time when you are with your child

What to Do: 1. Choose a nursery rhyme or a song and sing it to your child.

2. Sing the nursery rhyme a second time. Sway or clap with your child in rhythm with the music. Your child may vocalize withyou.

3. If your child is responding, keep the fun going.

4. Play this game every day for a week, always using the same song(s) or rhyme(s). Don’t worry about repeating favorites —yoursor his—repetition is good. You can’t sing it—or say it—too many times!

Remember, repetition is an important way for your child to learn.


1. As your child gets used to hearing nursery rhymes or songs, he may begin to know what is coming next. Pause at the end oflines and let your child fill in the last word or the next line.

2. Select one of your child’s favorite nursery rhymes or songs. On several pieces of paper, draw illustrations (they can be verysimple) showing the action of the nursery rhyme. Start with two rhymes. For example, on one paper illustrate “The Cow JumpedOver the Moon” and on another “Hickory, Dickory Dock” (or any favorite from your culture or tradition). Sing or recite a line and



Purpose of the Activity: To demonstrate the ability to match and sortTo learn the language “same” and “different” while observing different shapes and sizes of household items

see if your child can point to the correct picture. When your child can do this with ease, use three and finally four illustrations.

SPEECH: Vowels and DiphthongsPurpose of the Game:To listen to and practice vowels and diphthongs

What You Need (if your child is just beginning):Bubbles to make the sound /o/ in “pop”A toy ladder A doll or stuffed animal

What to Do:1. Blow bubbles with your child and help him catch them. As they pop, say, “Pop, pop, pop.” Encourage him to vocalize also ashe pops the bubbles.

2. With a toy ladder, move a doll or other toy up and down, repeating the words, “Up, up, up,” for short vowel sounds and “dooooown” for long vowel sounds.

What You Need (If your child is more advanced):A mirrorA doll or stuffed animal

What to Do:1. Look at a doll or stuffed animal together and identify facial features. Point and say, “Here is the nose.” “Where is your nose?” “Here is your mouth.” Vowel and diphthong sounds are very pronounced in these words:

Nose – o Mouth – ou Eyes – i Teeth – ee

(Vowel sounds are made with tongue movement and not lips.) Be sure that you do not exaggerate the words. And, use them inshort, simple sentences. Let your child listen and try to imitate you.

2. Tell him, “Your turn!” Then give him a turn. Let him point and show your mouth, eyes, etc. in a mirror.

Variation:You can also play a “What’s Missing” game by drawing a face, and leave off a facial feature. For example, you might draw a noseand eyes, and then ask, “What’s missing?” Your child will say, “The mouth!” Be sure to give him a turn with this game, too.

A THINKING ACTIVITY: Matching and Sequencing Objects



What You Need: Shoes or silverware for matchingPlastic containers with lids for sequencing

What to Do:

If your child is two or three years old:1. Bring out three or four pairs of shoes belonging to different family members. Scatter them on the floor and then sit with yourchild and say, “Look, I have Daddy’s big shoe. Where is the matching shoe?” If your child does not locate that shoe, find it for himand say, “Here is the matching shoe. Look, I have Daddy’s shoes.”

2. Now take one of your child’s shoes and again say, “Here is your shoe. Where is the matching shoe?” Be enthusiastic whenyour child locates his shoe and creates a pair.

3. Now ask your child to match two shoes. You might say, “What shoe would you like to match? Oh, you have Mommy’s shoe. Can you match it?”

If your child is four or five years old:1. Bring out your plastic containers with lids. You will want as many sizes as possible. Scatter them on the floor and sit withyour child as you say, “Let’s put the lids on the bowls. Which lid goes on this one?”

2. As your child finds the correct lids for the bowls, encourage him to place them in order from the smallest to the largest. “Here’s a small bowl. Shall we put it here? Let’s put this bigger bowl here. What bowl goes next?”

Purpose of the Game: To talk with your child about the language of colorsTo encourage your child’s creativity

What You Need:PaperCrayons (At first, you may want to limit the crayons to three or four bright colors. And remember, for younger children, largecrayons are easier to handle.)

What to Do:1. Provide your child with paper and crayons. Allow him to draw whatever he wants on his own paper.

2. At first, your child may do little more than scribble on the paper. Doing this, he is learning to hold the crayon. He is alsodeveloping important fine motor coordination that will be necessary later for writing skills. Encourage him! He is being creative.Show your pleasure at his “work.”

3. Talk with him about the colors he uses:

“You want the red crayon.” “Where is the blue crayon?” “The yellow is pretty.”

PLAYTIME: Using Crayons and Paper



Also, talk with him about what he draws:

“You are making a big picture.” “You’re going round and round.” “Tell me about your picture.”

4. When he has finished, help him “write” his name on his picture. Hang up the picture where all family members can see it.Praise him for his artistic attempts!

5. Later, offer him more colors from which to choose.

Variations:1. Squirt white shaving cream into a bowl and color it with tempera paint. Let your child “paint” with the shaving cream on paper.Then provide small containers with glitter or confetti for your child to decorate his art. Talk about colors, shapes, and how smooththe shaving cream feels.

2. Try easel painting with large brushes. Be sure to have your child wear old clothing or a big smock!

If Your Child Is Ready: Advanced Language and Skills You may also want to help him compare shapes by tracing a round object such as a cup, and a square object such as a small box. Talk about the different shapes. You can also make a large circle with a bigger cup.

“You made a big circle.” “What color will you paint it?” “See, your red square will fit into the big green circle.”

E) SUMMARY

Experience books are excellent teaching tools.

Teach your child the birthday song of your culture as you prepare for that special day.

Keep your camera with you and take photos of every occasion.

Make a calendar to teach your child about yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Find or make some books about holidays, birthdays, or seasons.

Speech is an acoustic event! Is it time to schedule a hearing test?

Keep your child’s notebook up to date!


Family Trips

Make an Experience Book

Go to the Next LessonYES! You have completed reading Lesson 7: Seasonal Fun. Now try some ideas with your child. Consider sharing questions andsuccesses using the yellow box on any page. Your changing concerns and your child’s increasing skills will be saved in “reportsI’ve sent.” You can use these forms to show service providers or family and celebrate progress together. Then proceed to Lesson 8:


http://www.jtc.org/parents/ideas-advice-blog-comments/were-going-on-vacation

http://wsdsonline.org/video-library/deaf-blind-videos/experience-books/



Early Literacy so this course becomes an individualized guide or go back to the Preschool Course content to select another module.


Lesson 8: Early LiteracyA) LISTENINGWhen you and your preschooler first begin to look at books together, you will read or tell the story to your child. She will listen. Asshe begins to understand your words, she is developing her auditory learning skills. Auditory learning is the result of listening.This is important now as your child becomes older and will soon begin school. She will need to learn by listening to her teacher asshe reads or gives directions. Your focus now should be on developing this ability.

Books provide the perfect opportunity for helping your child with auditory learning. After you and your preschooler have read abook together a few times, you have the opportunity to ask some questions. You might just look at the pictures and ask, “Where isthe duck?” “Can you find the boy?” Encourage your child to respond auditorily at first, then use vision if necessary.

Most children love to hear a story over and over until they are able to tell it themselves with only a few words from you. You canencourage your child to reach this level by giving her the opportunity to finish a sentence in the book. “…and the moon is behindthe_____.” Can she say the word? If not, model it for her and then repeat the sentence again leaving out the last word. Pause justbriefly. If she cannot “fill in the blank,” do it for her and continue with the story.

You can also encourage your child to tell you the story. Listen to the words she uses. Is she using all the nouns? What about verbs?Help her add a few more words each time she tells you the story. And, as always, tell her what a great job she is doing.The use of stories with children who have a hearing loss is very important for the following reasons:

1. Stories provide an opportunity to teach many concepts that children cannot experience in a therapy session or at home.

2. Stories help develop the imagination.

3. Stories offer the opportunity to repeat, predict and reinforce new concepts and experiences.

Beginning stories for very young children should have one picture on each page. To help your child understand the picture, youcan have an object or toy that matches the illustration. Talk about the object or toy and then look at it and the picture. In thatway, you are interacting and playing with your child, reinforcing listening and language skills.

Hearing children at two years of age have a vocabulary of approximately 300 words. At three years, that vocabulary has increasedto 900 words. That same pace is expected from a child with a hearing loss if hearing aids provide awareness of speech and if he isin a good speech therapy program. Stories are one more valuable tool to aid in developing a strong vocabulary.

B) LANGUAGEDiscuss what might happen in the stories you are reading.

How Do Children Develop Literacy?Print is all around us! You want your child to begin to associate printed words with spoken language. A simple and enjoyable wayto start your little one on the road to literacy is to point out her name on mail, clothing labels—anything and everything with hername on it. The more often you do this, the sooner she will begin to associate print with something important such as her name!






Any time is a good time for stories! Now, while your child is quite young, story time may be very short. Later, as she grows andher attention span lengthens, story time will lengthen, too. Let her choose books that she enjoys. It is common for preschoolersto enjoy reading familiar stories over and over again. Rereading favorites helps to build familiarity with stories and, later, print.

Choose a time when you are free from other cares, a quiet time. Parents often enjoy reading regularly to their children beforegoing to sleep at night and at naptime. Leave her hearing aids or cochlear implant on during story time so that she will benefitfrom hearing the sounds of speech. Remember, at first it is the special joy of sharing time with you that will make story timeimportant. Later, your child’s feelings about books will be linked with memories of close, loving moments with you.

The first books you may want to share with your child are picture books that have just a single picture on each page (no print).

Take advantage of the print that is already in your home and community. You can read street signs and labels to her. As you driveto the market, point out traffic and street signs. “Stop. The sign says ‘Stop.’ We need to stop now.” You can go for a walk and lookat your street sign. “Rimhill Road. We live on Rimhill Road.”

Does your child have a favorite place to eat? Show her the sign while you say the name. Then look at the menu together. Is there apicture of a chicken or a hamburger? Show it to her as you point to and say the word. “You want chicken.” It won’t be long beforeyour child begins to understand that letters have meaning.

Your preschooler has probably watched you make your daily or weekly shopping list. She has probably seen you check things off,too, after putting items in your cart. She will feel very important if she makes a shopping list and goes to the market with you. Choose four or five items that you will buy together. Find or sketch a picture of each of these items. Then get your pencil and twopieces of paper. Show your child the pictures. (Pause for a second as you identify the items.) “We need milk…apples…bananas…and cereal. Let’s make a list.”

On your child’s paper, sketch a picture of each item. Beside the sketch, write the word. Write your list, too. She cannot read thewords yet, but she knows that this paper will tell you what you need and with the pictures, she can “help” you. At the store let hercarry her list. Show her the picture of the milk and the word “milk” on your list. Say, “Let’s get the milk.” When you do, point to theword on the carton and then on her list and yours. Say, “Milk. Here’s our milk.” If you generally cross items off your list, let her dothe same. Repeat this for the other items on your shopping list.

When you go to the produce section of the store, you will probably see the words “apples” and “bananas” near those items. Point tothe word as you say, “Here are the apples.” Now you can take your purchases and check out. Your child has had an important andmeaningful lesson in pre‑literacy!

Here is another suggestion. Let your child try to scribble or “write” some of the printed words she sees all around her. Provide largecrayons, pencils and paper. No need for adult accuracy here–just let her enjoy putting some print with a picture. Encourage her towrite her name. Pre‑writing is also part of the literacy process.

Studies in the past indicated that the reading skills of children with a hearing loss have been significantly lower than for childrenwho are hearing. Researchers have studied children in different parts of the world and life circumstances to identify factors neededfor improved reading abilities of children with hearing loss. To become an excellent reader a child needs abundant experiences, asystem of fluent language and a vocabulary of between 3,000 and 5,000 words. Parents who want their children with hearing lossto develop literacy can promote it by reading daily to their child at an early age, encouraging their listening skills and choosing aneducation program emphasizing communication and reading.

Books and Story Time



These will help her begin to associate pictures with real objects, people and places. “Here is a picture of a car. It’s a car. Where isour car? See. There’s our car. We have a car, too.” Soon the word “car” will become a part of her vocabulary and she will beginsaying this new word when she shows you the picture.Picture books may also have a particular theme and contain pictures with related ideas and concepts. Such books might deal withfood, toys, articles of clothing, or means of transportation. These are fun, too.

Some books with one line of print per page may be appropriate to read word for word, but in most cases, you will have to adaptyour language to meet your child’s needs.Storybooks, of course, contain more than pictures. They tell a story. Most contain written language, although in some, the picturesalone can “tell” the story. For the child who is just beginning to learn language, or for the child looking at a book by herself, thepictures ARE the story. Sharing storybooks with your child will be an exciting experience for both of you, and open a wide newworld to her.

Your preschooler might also enjoy reading “predictable” books with you. These are stories that youngsters almost “readthemselves” by their rhythm or rhyme. Knowing what comes next will help your child feel more relaxed and in control of thereading process. Of course, there will be good books with delightful, interesting pictures that both you and your child will enjoy, but whose writtenlanguage is too advanced. In using these books, tell the story in your own words, primarily using vocabulary that your child knows.

How to Tell a StoryRemember, it is what you put into the story that will make it come alive! Your enjoyment, your enthusiasm, and your sense ofadventure—these will stimulate your child’s interest. After you have decided on a book to read to your child, prepare to tell the story. If you know that the story is too long for herattention span, go through the book and choose the pictures you will talk about. Then flip to the picture you are describing andenjoy it with your child. You might paper clip pages together to make “turning the page” easy.

If your child is still fairly young, you may only be able to hold her interest for a short time. It’s a good idea then to select onlythree or four pictures that illustrate the main points. Decide in advance what you will say about each picture. Start to turn the page,then stop. Look at her and ask, “Ohhhh! What do you think will happen now?”

Give your little one a moment to tell you what she thinks. This is the time for conversation. Maybe she already knows and wantsto tell you. Maybe she just wants you to turn the page. Let her express herself before you continue with the story.

One excellent story that offers lots of opportunities to repeat language, and also is loved by many children, is “The Three LittleKittens.” There are several versions of this story available, but in most, the pictures are enjoyable and very descriptive. Let’s usethis story as an example of how you might introduce and share books with your child.

Initially your language will be simple. You might decide beforehand to use language such as:

“Here are three little kittens.” “See their mittens.” “The kittens are crying.” “Their mittens are dirty.” “Now the mittens are clean!” “The kittens are happy.”

You are ready to tell the story! Sit beside your little one so that both of you can look at the book together, and so that she can lookup at you for more information. Now, enthusiastically say something about the book. “Here’s a book,” or “Let’s read a book.” You



Reading with your child is an important part of her cognitive growth. Children need to learn to match real objects to pictures. Books help develop this skill. A story helps develop sequencing skills. Your preschooler will learn the concept of cause and effect,and how to follow events in a story. This leads to the ability to predict: “What will happen next?”

If you are reading a story about a cat that disappeared, and you have read that the cat is white and a white shirt is under the bed,will your child be able to infer that the cat is sitting on the shirt under the bed? Help your child to reach conclusions based oninformation. This ability will be important for all her future studies. Consider your child’s attention span. Talk to your little one about the story you’ve shared. And enjoy reading the same story over

might then look at the picture on the cover and say, “See the kittens.”

Continue to hold the book as you tell the story. (Your child’s turn to hold the book comes later.) Let her look at the picture and, ofcourse, if she looks up at you, talk about it. Before your preschooler loses interest, turn to the next page. “The kitten is playing.” Go through the three or four pictures youhave marked, as you provide the appropriate language. Don’t forget to say, “Turn the page!”

It’s your child’s turn now. When the “story” is over, give the book to your child. Let her look at it and enjoy it. Don’t rush her. Lether take her own time to enjoy the book in her own way. Be ready to comment on a picture whenever you can. If she is justbeginning to learn language, she may want to “babble” or just vocalize as she “reads.” Be a good listener!

When you “read” a story, you will use vocabulary that your preschooler knows. This makes her comfortable with the experience. But as she becomes familiar with the story and as her interest grows, add new words. When she understands it, help her expressthat word when she talks to you about the story or tells that story back to you.

Just as you need to keep up with your child’s growing language, so you will need to keep pace with her growing, changing needs asyou read to her. After a while, her attention span will lengthen. Then you can use more pictures and more advanced language. Ifyour child is using a formal sign system, you will need to learn the signs used in your child’s favorite stories, too.

In sharing storybooks with your child, you are the star, the producer and the director! It is the enthusiasm that you put into yourvoice and your facial expression as you tell the story that will generate interest in your child. Create suspense! Make the storycome alive! Reading together will help your preschooler learn the concept of a story line. When we talk to each other, we often explainhappenings in story form. We give details of the situation, the people, their expressions and events. Reading books will providethis experience of narrative: there is a story line and there are details. And, it’s fun to talk about them! As your child develops thissense of a story line, you will see her use it in her imaginative play and in the stories she tells you.

Using PropsOccasionally you may wish to dramatize a story by using a small toy or other “prop.” Props may help your child understand andmay help maintain her interest. A tiny pair of mittens cut from construction paper, for example, would liven up “The Three LittleKittens.”

You might also want to use a felt board—bought or made at home—to act out parts of the story. Later, as your child becomesfamiliar with the story, she might enjoy acting out different parts after you have read them. Don’t overdo props. Too many candistract from the story itself.

Your Child and Books



and over again as long as she is interested.

For your child who is still developing her language system, an informal, story‑based approach is a good way to develop her earlyreading skills. This includes an interest in print, an understanding of stories and an awareness of how spoken language and printare connected.

Formal programs, which may use flash cards or the copying of letters, may promote a misunderstanding about the nature andpurpose of reading. When your child has developed her complete language system, she will be well prepared for a formal readingprogram. Your efforts during these early years will provide an excellent foundation for the years ahead.

As your child grows, books will provide wonderful chances to increase her language skills, her knowledge about the world, and herimagination. Help her to learn now that books are marvelous friends! A love of books is a wonderful gift to give your child.

In Lesson Seven we talked about making experience books. Have you made some yet? If not, this is the time to begin. You canthink of many experiences that your child enjoys, and those are the perfect topics for books for her. As you and your preschoolerlook at one of these books together, you can think of speech sounds for her to learn. After learning vowels and diphthongs, yourchild will begin with consonants such as /w/ or /h/. Possibly you have an experience book about washing the car. Talk about “water.”

Encourage your child to say the word as she points to the pictures. “The car is wet.” Another sound you can use often is /k/ asyou say, “car.” Repeat these words often and soon your child will be saying them back to you.

Every child loves a birthday party, especially her own. Maybe you have made an experience book with pictures of her last party. This is the perfect occasion to bring it out and practice some speech sounds. You can develop the /h/sound as you sing “HappyBirthday” together. Here’s another chance to work on /k/ as you talk about her birthday cake. And don’t forget the ice cream!

Formal Reading Programs

C) SPEECH

VIDEO CLIP & IDEAS FOR EXTRA LEARNINGView brief video clip celebrating the progress of JTC preschooler enjoying book fun with a parent.

Give your child experience following directions.

LISTENING: Following Simple Directions



Purpose of the Game: To help your child understand simple directions with the aid of pictures

What You Need: A simple story such as “The Three Kittens” or “Where the Wild Things Are” and some props:

You might make puppets by pasting pictures on popsickle sticks. Or you might find a stuffed toy or doll.

What to Do: Tell your child the story as you look at the pictures in the book.

When she understands the story line, use the puppets or stuffed animals to act out the story. You might say, “The little boy wantedto be wild,” as you move the doll or puppets.Now give the props to your child and say the same sentence, “The little boy wanted to be wild.” Encourage her to move the animalsappropriately.

If Your Child Is Ready: Advanced Listening Skills There are many simple directions you use each day, such as, “Brush your teeth.” “Get your shoes.” “Let’s eat.” “Go to bed.” Choose one of these directions, such as, “Brush your teeth.” Tell your child, “Brush your teeth.”

Lead her to the bathroom and give her the tooth brush. Again say, “Brush your teeth.” “Good for you! You brushed your teeth.”

Each morning and evening when your child brushes her teeth, repeat this sentence until you are aware that she understands. Then, with no gestures, say only the words, “Brush your teeth” at the appropriate time. Praise your child when she understandsyour request.Now choose another direction and work with it until your child understands and can follow it.

LANGUAGE: Making Picture BooksPurpose of the Game: To stimulate your child’s interest in booksTo expose your child to the names of familiar objectsTo help your child develop a basic understanding of category words

What You Need: A scrapbook or a notebookBooks can easily be made by simply fastening together the number of pages you need with metal fasteners or with yarn.Pictures cut from magazines or sketched

What to Do: Together with your child, make a picture book of familiar items. You might want to cut pictures out of magazines or draw thepictures yourself. Help your child paste the pictures in the book, one to a page. You may want to start with about five pictures.

You can write a word or two under the picture and ask your child to “write” something too!The subject for your child’s book is up to you, depending on her interests. For example, first you might want to make a bookabout your child’s favorite toys. Later, if your child is interested in things that go, you might make a book of pictures of cars,airplanes and boats. Another book might have pictures of things to eat; another of places to go; another of colors.



These books will give you many opportunities to talk about familiar things with your child. For example, talk about the foods:“Mmm! The cake is good to eat.” “Here’s some spaghetti.” “How many oranges do you see?”Talk about the things that go: “The car is blue.” “Where is the airplane? It goes up in the sky.” “The train goes choo‑choo.”

Variations: Your child can use these books to express her thoughts and desires to you. For example, if she wants an apple to eat, she canshow you the picture of the apple. Or, if she wants to play with her favorite toy car, she can show you that picture.If you make a book of her favorite activities, she can use it to tell you what she wants to do.

Your child might like to create a special photo album with you. Take pictures of family members, friends, and relatives and putthem in the photo album. This is an excellent way to introduce her to the names of these people.

Since there are probably places you and your child frequently go, you might make a book of these places. We call this book the“Bye‑Bye” Book. You can take pictures at the grocery store, your child’s school, the park, Grandma’s house, etc. You can use themto show your child where you are going each day. Use them later to talk about these trips after you are home again.

A bulletin board can be used to mount interesting pictures as well. Mount pictures on construction paper, one to a page. Begin withone or two pictures of interesting things, and add a new picture each day until the board is full. When your child tires of thepictures, take them down and begin again with a new category. The other pictures can be saved and used again, or made into abook.

If Your Child Is Ready: Advanced Language and Skills 1. If your child is ready, you can refine your categories. For example, if you have a book called “Things to Eat,” or “Foods,” youmight categorize according to types of food. Put fruits, vegetables and meats each in a different book. Or you could categorize bymeal, creating a separate book for things to eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack time. You can talk about the different kindsof foods and the colors, shapes, smells and sizes of the foods.

“The banana is yellow.” “This is a fruit. What is this?” “I like cookies.” “Here’s some milk for breakfast.”

SPEECH: PitchPurpose of the Game: To provide your child with opportunities to work on auditorily recognizing and producing speech sounds with intonation patterns

Pitch is developed as we use everyday phrases. A good example is, “I’m home!” This is often said in a sing‑song voice, changingthe pitch in the word “home.” Words like “Bye‑bye” and “Oh‑oh” are also pronounced with higher pitch in the first word. Take amoment to think about the words and phrases you use everyday. They might include:“All gone.” “Hello‑o‑o!” “Owwww” (when hurt)

What to Do: 1. Make a list of phrases or words you can use which are associated with activities you do every day. If you have stairs in yourhouse, you might climb one or two as you say, “Up, up, up” and then “Do‑o‑o‑ wn” as you come down. Raise your voice as yousay, “Up” and lower your voice as you say, “Down.” List words and phrases you use often:



Purpose of the Activity: To let your child listen to and learn the language used in preparing breakfastTo let your child share in meal preparation activities

What You Need: Food, dishes and flatware needed to prepare breakfast

What to Do: 1. Let your child help you prepare a very simple breakfast for herself or the whole family. You may want to start with scrambledeggs.

2. Let your child take the food and dishes out. First, take her to the refrigerator and say:

“We need some eggs.”

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

2. Make a game of using a word or phrase while involved in a familiar activity. Encourage your child to imitate your voice. You wanther to vary the pitch, or tone of the word or words you say. Even if the words are not clear, help her to imitate the pitch. Graduallythe words will come. After a few days, she will associate the words with the actions and spontaneously begin to say them.

You can also practice these words and phrases with stuffed animals or dolls. Walk the doll into the dollhouse, saying, “I’m home!”Move the stuffed animal down a toy slide as you say, “Wheeee!”

If Your Child Is Ready: Advanced Language and Skills 1. Create songs for different activities. You can use the melody from a well‑known song such as “London Bridge Is Falling Down”and supply your own words.

“Now it’s time to brush my teeth, brush my teeth,brush my teeth. Now it’s time to brush my teeth, and go to bed.” Using the melody from “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” you can sing:“Mommy helps me put away All the toys I’ve used today Up and down and round we go Sometimes fast and sometimes slow Now I put my toys away Just like I do every day”Now it’s time to make up your own songs. Then sing together and have fun!

AN EVERYDAY ACTIVITY: Preparing Breakfast



“Let’s get the eggs.”

At the same time, help her follow the directions, and get out the eggs. Or, let her watch you get the eggs as you talk to her.

3. Have your child help get out a bowl, mixing spoon and frying pan. Perhaps you will want to take them out of the cupboard, andhand them to her.

4. When all the materials are together, use language that comes naturally to you and that describes the actions your child isperforming, or that you are helping her perform.

“Let’s break the eggs and put them in the bowl.”“Stir the eggs ““Pour the eggs in the pan.”“The eggs are cooking!”“Let’s eat our scrambled eggs!”

Variations: 1. Help your child serve scrambled eggs to the family. You can talk about how much each person wants to eat and if they want saltor pepper on their eggs.

2. Pour juice to enjoy with your breakfast. You can use language such as:

“Open the juice.”“Pour the juice.”“Close the juice.”“The juice is cold.”

3. Make toast. You can talk about the toast being HOT and the butter MELTING.

4. Make a scrapbook of the pictures of the breakfast foods you have prepared with your child, or those she particularly likes to eat.

If Your Child Is Ready: Advanced Language and Skills 1. Encourage your child to use her language to indicate what kind of food she would like to help you prepare. Help her makechoices:

“What do you want for breakfast?”“Do you want apple juice or orange juice?”“Shall we have cereal or eggs?”

2. Take pictures of each step of the breakfast preparation. Use your photos to make an experience book. Read the book to yourchild, and let her tell you the story, too.

PLAYTIME: Things that FloatPurpose of the Game: To learn the language “under the water” and “on top of the water”To develop thinking skills

What You Need:



Reading to your child is the first step towards literacy.

Find a time each day to read together.

Collect books with subjects that interest your child.

Plan your storytime and use props or puppets on occasion.

Purpose of the Activity: To learn about how shadows are madeTo learn the language associated with light

What You Need: Sunshine Another light source such as a flashlight or lamp, and a wall

What to Do: 1. Go for a walk with your child and talk about shadows. You might say, “Look, here is a shadow of a tree. Do you see the car’sshadow?” And most important, “Here is your shadow! Look, it moves when you move!” Spend some time looking at shadowstogether and encourage your child to find them.

2. Now show your child that the sun makes a shadow. You can point to the sun and say, “See the sun is shining. The sun makes ashadow because you are in the way of its light!” Every time you see a shadow, talk about the sunlight again. 3. After your walk, ask your child if she sees a shadow inside the house. “No, there is no shadow. The sun is not shining in thehouse. There is no shadow. We need light!”

Now you can take a flashlight or lamp and show your child how to make a shadow against the wall. Talk about how the flashlight islike the sun and her hand is in the way of the light. Then put a piece of paper on the wall and trace the shadow. Maybe she willwant to make other shadow pictures as you and she talk about them.

Various toys such as a boat, paper, an ice cube, a rock, sand, a pencilThe bathtub or sink

What to Do: 1. Gather the objects you will use and place them beside you so that your child will not be distracted by playing with them beforeyou begin. Fill the sink or bathtub with water. Talk about what’s happening!

2. Stand with your child in front of the sink, or kneel beside the bathtub. Take the toy boat and ask your child, “Will your boat stayon top of the water?” She might not understand that phrase or concept, so let her place it on the water and tell her, “The boat is ontop of the water.” Now take a rock and ask, “Will the rock stay on top of the water?” Again, let her put the rock into the water. “No,the rock is under the water!”

3. Give each object to your child, asking her if it will stay on top of the water, or if it will go under the water.

For more advanced language‑learners, you can introduce the language “sink” and “float.”

A THINKING ACTIVITY: Shadows and Light

E) SUMMARY



Watch for everyday moments that are opportunities for reading with your child—labels on clothing or food, street signs, names of familiar places, etc.

Keep making experience books!


Cultural Celebrations

World of Words

Go to the Next LessonYES! You have completed reading Lesson 8: Early Literacy. Now try some ideas with your child. Consider sharing questions andsuccesses using the yellow box on any page. Your changing concerns and your child’s increasing skills will be saved in “reportsI’ve sent.” You can use these forms to show service providers or family and celebrate progress together. Then proceed to Lesson 9:Expanding Vocabulary so this course becomes an individualized guide or go back to the Preschool Course content to select anothermodule.


Lesson 9: Expanding VocabularyBeginning Language StructuresWhen your child was very young, he babbled and made word approximations. After these beginning vocalizations and when yourchild had a vocabulary of 50 to 75 words, you began to hear a different level of language. This included:

1. Word combinations. Children begin to combine two words, such as “ball table” when seeing a ball on the table.

2. Expressions. We use many phrases in speech, such as “See you later,” or “Bye‑bye.” A child perceives these as one word ratherthan two or three words.

3. Known single words, such as “more,” are combined into two‑word phrases, like “more milk,” “more juice,” “more cookies.” Children create many different phrases based on a known word. And they also create linguistic categories such as “things I canrequest more of.”

Then you heard your little one say, “Daddy is there,” or “Milk is in cup.” He began to express location of objects and persons.

Later, children create beginning sentences and phrases from one word (generally a verb). Your preschooler might say, “I want....”or “Milk fall down.” Verb tenses (past, present and future) are learned individually. Your child might know the present tense of oneverb, but that does not mean he can generalize to all verbs.

Children also use routine language in sentences. You might hear your child use a sentence with two participants, one acting on theother: “He cut the cake.” Your preschooler is describing an action performed by a person on an object.

You will also hear reflexive sentences. These are very common and learned because you frequently repeat them. “Get up.” “Timefor bed.” “Get your coat.”

When children talk with other children, their conversations are shorter and less coherent than when they talk with adults. Forexample, the conversations of a two‑year‑old child are two‑and‑a‑half times longer with their mothers than with other children.

http://www.jtc.org/parents/ideas-advice-blog-comments/holidays-and-cultural-celebrations

http://www.earlyliteracylearning.org/cellpract_parent/infants/PG_1_I_WorldWords_WM.pdf






That is why you provide the best opportunities for your child to develop his communication skills as you talk, talk, talk to him.

ADVANCED LANGUAGEIn order to know more about your child’s current language level, you can begin collecting a language sample. The information itprovides will give you direction as you help him develop and expand his language.

Collecting a Language SampleDuring the day, choose several activities that are among your child’s favorites. You’ll want to choose activities or games tostimulate him to use his language spontaneously. You might choose mealtime, bath time, playtime or when you are dressing yourchild. You might also use pictures to encourage your child’s use of spontaneous language. Any activity that you feel will provide asample of your child’s typical expressive language is fine. During the situation you choose, just write or record what your childsays and/or signs spontaneously.

Before you begin, take a moment to decide on the best way to record your child’s language sample. Depending on the situationand the people available to help you, the sampling can be done in several ways. Using a tape recorder allows you and your child toenjoy an activity uninterrupted. Or another adult can serve as your “recorder” and simply write down what is said. If a taperecorder, video camera or another adult is not available, choose an activity in which you are not an active participant, but anobjective observer and recorder.

Spend about 15 to 20 minutes collecting the sample for each activity. Write down exactly what your child says and/or signs. Usingthe sample Communication Chart on page six, prepare several charts of your own to keep in your child’s notebook. Use the chartto record the sampling. You will want to record not only what your child expresses, but what you think he means. Often thesituation will help you understand his meaning or intention. If you are not sure of his meaning, that is all right. Just put a questionmark under “Child’s Intent.” Next, list how you responded—your actions and your words.

Record What Your Child ExpressesListen carefully. Record as accurately as you can what your child actually says and/or signs. This is not always easy. We all have atendency (and usually we are not even aware of it) to let our minds fill in the parts a child leaves out. We may think we hear or see“Throw the ball,” when the child may actually have said or signed, “Throw ball.” Don’t feel badly if you find yourself doing this. Itshows that you are understanding your child’s language—and that is great! But for now, record as accurately as you can exactlywhat your child says or signs. His speech or his signs may not be clear on every word, so you may not understand everything. Keep in mind that the speech of most children with normal hearing can be difficult to understand, too.

Let’s look at some more samples and think about how these preschoolers are using language.

1. “Brush teeth” I want to brush my teeth.

2. “Want more cookies” I want more cookies.

3. “Where are chips?” Where are the chocolate chips?

4. “Look chips” Look, I found the chips.

5. “Water swimming” We’re going swimming in the water.



Initially, your child may use a few descriptive words such as: hot, big, fast and pretty. You want to expand his understanding anduse of more descriptive words. You can begin by talking about subjects such as: “the yellow flower,” “the soft blanket” and “yourdirty hands.”

When your child is using basic descriptive words, help him learn that there are different descriptive words that mean almost thesame thing. These are synonyms. For example, your child may first learn “big,” then learn “large.” Still later, he may learn various

6. “My turn—no Billy’s” It’s my turn, not Billy’s.

7. “No thank you water.” I don’t want any more water.

In this sample, you can see two‑word phrases such as, “Water swimming.” You also see three‑word combinations. Notice thatpronouns appear and are correctly used: “my” and “you.” Negatives appear: “No thank you…” And a question is asked —not only isit asked, but the child also answers it. He is demonstrating real understanding of the question form. A variety of verbs are used:“are” and “don’t know.” What an excellent example of a child who is beginning to use sentences to express himself!

Guide to AnalyzingWhen considering your preschooler’s language sample, it is most important to remember his “hearing age.” As you rememberfrom Lesson One, hearing age is determined by the amount of time your child has been consistently wearing hearing aids or hiscochlear implant. So if he received hearing aids or a cochlear implant at age two, and he is now three years old, his hearing age isone year. If he received very little benefit from hearing aids and was implanted, his hearing age might be measured from the firstaccurate mapping.

A preschooler with appropriate amplification is probably using or beginning to use two‑word combinations after he has avocabulary of at least 100 words that he spontaneously expresses. Your little one might be saying, “Boy ball” or “Throw ball.” If hehas some adjectives in his vocabulary, you might hear, “big ball.” Two‑word combinations might also consist of a negative with averb, such as, “not throw,” or with an adjective, “not red.” Question words might emerge: “Where Daddy?” or “Who run?”

If your child is using three‑word combinations, you might hear, “Where my ball?” “Who push chair?” “What on table?” “How manyball?” or “What color ball?”

As you analyze your child’s language sample, you may begin to notice that his vocabulary needs to grow with different kinds ofwords. For example, his vocabulary may consist primarily of nouns. Now is the time to begin developing your child’s understandingand use of other kinds of words as well: verbs, adjectives, prepositions, adverbs, possessive forms, etc.

VerbsVerbs, especially action words, can be fun and exciting to teach. Some basic verbs you might want to introduce are: sit, stand, run,climb, jump and hop. These are all words that stand by themselves and can be easily demonstrated. Acting these words out canprovide many enjoyable moments for you and your child. Perhaps you can use them in games, such as “Simon Says” and “Followthe Leader.”

Verbs you might want to introduce later may include: chew, sneeze, ride, talk and sing. It’s easy to think of many more.

Descriptive Words/Adjectives



degrees of “bigness,” such as: huge, immense and gigantic, as his concepts and experiences grow.

Look for opportunities throughout the day to use your child’s new words as part of familiar sentences. If your child has justlearned “huge” for example, as another way of saying “very big,” you can say to him: “Wow, that elephant is huge.” “Is that airplanehuge?” or, “You have a huge apple.”

In addition to using words that mean the same thing, it is also fun to introduce words that have opposite meanings. You can dothis by using real objects and pictures to help your child grasp the meaning of these new words. For example, you can drawpictures of “big” and “little” stars, circles and squares; you can look at big and little hands; feel “hard” and “soft” surfaces; or maketoy cars go “fast” and “slow.” During the day, you can point out that Daddy’s socks are “big” and Jimmy’s socks are “little” or thatthe truck is driving very “slow,” while the sports car went by very “fast.” You can also show him that his hands are “dirty” and hisarms are “clean.”

Just like using verbs, prepositions offer many opportunities for fun in language learning. Throughout the day, there are countlessopportunities to use prepositions as your child climbs “into” the laundry basket, and climbs “out” of it; as you put the basket“above” his head, and then “on top of” it; then “beside” him on the floor. You can think of many other opportunities in your owndaily routine.

Many of the words that your child learns first are words that represent a whole group or category of objects. For example, yourchild may know the word “flower,” and use it appropriately to name everything from a rose to a dandelion. Gradually, perhaps onwalks in the park, or when looking at flowers in a garden, you will begin to teach him the names “rose” and “dandelion.” He maywonder why you are now saying, “rose,” when he knows it as “flower.” He may disagree with you strongly. When you say, “It’s arose,” he may say emphatically, “No! Flower!” Little by little, you will help him understand that, yes, it is a flower, but it has anothername, too, which is “rose.”

Here are some more examples of nouns your child may know, and some specific words within each category that you can beginteaching.

SHOES: Sandals, tennis shoes, sneakers, high heels, bootsSHIRTS: T‑shirts, sweat shirts, undershirts

You can teach your child various brand names of cars, cereals, and soft drinks, too.

Opposites

ComparisonsBegin to introduce the idea of comparative descriptions to your child. Examples are: big, bigger, biggest; heavy, heavier, heaviest;fast, faster, fastest, and so on. When teaching your child comparisons, use real objects to demonstrate the three different degrees.You can give him a “big” slice of apple, then a “bigger” one, and finally the “biggest” one. Or, you can make a toy car go “fast,” thenanother one go “faster,” and still another one, the “fastest.”

Prepositions

Expanding Your Child’s Vocabulary within Categories

Teaching Your Child Category NamesMany words that your child learns first are already very specific names of objects. For example, he may know the words “dog,”“cat,” “cow” and “rabbit.” After he has learned several names of objects within a category, you can begin to teach him the category



If your child is understanding and using more than two‑ or three‑word sentences; has a substantial receptive vocabulary whichincludes nouns, adjectives, some prepositions, adverbs and verbs; and has an expressive vocabulary of more than 200 words, hemay be ready for even more complex activities.

You can give him additional practice in understanding more words in a sentence by using known language in many differentsentences. Gradually, your child will begin to use new structures in connected langusage.

At the same time, you can begin to concentrate on selecting language to match his growing cognitive skills. For example, if henow seems to understand that events follow each other in an orderly sequence, you can introduce the language used in describingsequences.

In your day‑to‑day conversations with your child, you may already be pointing out the order of events: “First wash your hands,then you can eat your sandwich.” Or “First we need to put away the blocks, then we can play with the puzzle.” The concepts of firstand next or then are very important for your child to understand! You can help him grasp these ideas as you continue to point outthe natural sequence of events during the day.

name; in this case, “animal.” Category names such as this are generally called classification nouns.

Here are some more examples of groups of words in categories, and their classification nouns. You can begin to teach your childthe classification noun when he knows the names of three or four objects in that category.

Meat, fruit, cereal, bread, butter, eggs are all FOOD.

Doll, truck, puzzle, blocks, teddy bear are all TOYS.

Classification nouns can be taught by playing sorting games. Picture matching games are also especially good. Many times achild’s own playthings provide opportunities for learning classification nouns. For example, playing with a doll house provides lotsof opportunities for repetition of the word “furniture.”

You may notice that as your child’s language develops, he is able to learn new words at a more rapid rate than he did when hebegan. Encourage his use of new vocabulary words as you enjoy talking together!

More Advanced Practice

Question FormsYou will want to begin introducing question forms to your child right away. The easiest questions for him to understand andrespond to will probably be “Who’s this?” and “What’s this?” These questions need only be answered by a single word. You haveprobably given your preschooler practice in naming familiar objects and people. For example, point to Mommy and say, “Who’sthat?” If your child doesn’t respond, you can model the response for him, “That’s Mommy.” Or point to his favorite toy car andsay, “What’s that?” If he doesn’t respond, say, “That’s your car.” Use these questions casually and not too often so that you canavoid having your child feel you are testing him.

You may also want to begin introducing other question forms to your child, such as, “Where is…?” Ask him to show you wherevarious familiar objects are: “Where are your shoes?” “Where is your ball?” “Where is Grandpa?” At first, your child’s response maybe to show you where each object or person is by leading you by the hand, or pointing.After your child makes a response, you can reinforce the language: “There’s your ball,” “I see Daddy,” etc. Or, you can emphasizethe location by using prepositions: “Your shoes are in the closet” or “Your ball is under the bed.” Later he may begin to answer the



If your child has a very extensive language base, you may find that riddles will provide enjoyment and a challenge for both of you. Riddles are probably the most difficult of all advanced language activities. They require much more from your child than simplyhaving some receptive vocabulary. Your child must know classifications, descriptions, and qualities of objects. He must have thecognitive ability to form an answer from isolated bits of information. He has to be able to reason through given clues, and toidentify some hidden or unseen object from those clues.

Probably the minimum age for beginning to do riddles would be four years. Even if your child has an extensive and comprehensivevocabulary, but is younger than four years, he probably is not mature enough to do the reasoning involved. In that case, save thesefor later.

Choose objects your child is interested in and is very familiar with. Later, you can use pictures. As with all other advancedlanguage activities, in the beginning, riddles should be presented without expecting an answer from your child. Riddles give yourchild practice in recognizing words he knows in new combinations. For example, if you put a banana in a bag, give your child“clues” such as:

“I have something in the bag.”“It’s fruit.” (the category name)“It’s long.” (dimension)“It’s yellow.” (the color)“You have to peel it.” (what you do with it)“It tastes sweet.” (how it tastes)“What’s in the bag?”

At first, you won’t be asking questions that you expect to be answered. You’re just introducing this type of game. However, yourchild may guess. If he doesn’t, answer the question yourself by saying, “It’s a banana,” and let your child pull the banana out ofthe bag.

If he does not guess, then supply the answer, going through the clues again. Show him a banana on a plate as you say:

questions himself.

The question “Whose…” can be incorporated into the daily tasks of sorting laundry. For example, pick up a pair of Daddy’s pantsand ask, “Whose are these?” Help your child respond, “They’re Daddy’s.” You can also do this with other objects throughout theday: Mommy’s car keys, Mark’s baseball, Sharon’s doll, etc.

Another question form you might introduce is, “What will happen if…?” This will not only give your child the chance to expand hisconcept of cause and effect and his imagination, but it will also give him the opportunity to use his expressive language. Youcould use real objects or pictures in structured activities or casual conversation throughout the day.For example, at breakfast, place an unbreakable plastic cup very close to the edge of the table. Then say to your child, “What willhappen if I put your cup here?” If he doesn’t respond, pantomime eating breakfast and “accidentally” knock the cup off the table. Then say, “What happened? It fell off.”

Or, another example might be to show your child pictures of someone blowing up a balloon, getting bigger with each picture. Theanswer to “What will happen…?” would be, “It will pop.”

Riddles



“Is a banana a fruit?” “Yes.”“Is a banana long?” Yes.”“Is a banana yellow?” “Yes.”“Do you have to peel a banana?” “Yes.”“Does a banana taste sweet?” “Yes.”“What is it?” “It’s a banana!”

Then your child may take the banana out of the bag, and compare it with the one on the plate.

Here are some more examples of simple riddles that you might use with your child.

About a ball:“It’s a toy.”“It’s round.”“It’s red.”“It bounces.”“What is it?” (a ball)

About an elephant:“It’s an animal.”“It’s gray.”“It’s big.”“It has a long trunk.” (or nose)“What is it?” (an elephant)

Slang and IdiomsHearing children learn certain concepts and acquire the language of their peers quite casually as they grow. They pick up slangand idioms, as well as the interests of the other children their age.

You will want your child to have the same opportunities to learn the vocabulary and the idioms of his peers. By listening to otherchildren, reading children’s magazines, or watching children’s TV programs, you can get ideas for expressions your child alsoneeds to know.

Idioms and slang are tied into the culture of a community. Your language and culture are rich in their own characteristics. Helpyour child become familiar with the expressions that make your particular language unique.

For example, in American English when talking about heavy rainfall, one might comment, “It’s raining cats and dogs.” Or, whensomeone is joking with you, you might say, “You’re pulling my leg.” Your child may take these phrases literally, and look for thecats and dogs outside. Or, he may be confused because he’s not even touching your leg. He will need explanation as to what youmean. Give him many opportunities to hear slang expressions, and be ready to explain what he doesn’t understand.

Opportunities Are Everywhere



As you know, language learning is part of everyday life. You need not go far to find new and stimulating ways to developlanguage. Always let your child and his interests be your guide. His interests will change as he grows. Keep pace with his growth. When you begin more advanced activities, you will still want to continue your general language development. Surround your childwith language throughout the day.

Talk about all the events that happen to him, both inside and outside your household. As his language expands, you can begin totalk about objects, people, and events that are not just “here and now,” and that aren’t necessarily a part of his everyday life. Youwill reap the rewards in the years to come.

Look around you and note the many opportunities for language expansion. When your child is ready, and when his age and levelof development suggest an interest, you can point out these concepts casually without expecting immediate recognition orresponse. In all language learning for children who have a hearing loss, repetition leads to better understanding.

VIDEO CLIP & IDEAS FOR EXTRA LEARNINGView brief video clip celebrating the progress of JTC preschooler enjoying story time with a parent.

Use experiences outdoors to teach new words.

LISTENING : Discriminating Single WordsPurpose of the Game:To help your child discriminate words related to specific activities using his hearing

What You Need:Toys that need to be put away

What to Do:Show your child each toy and be sure he knows its name. “This is a car.” “Here is your airplane.” “Here is your doll.” “This is yourred ball.”Now stand behind your child and ask him to put away a toy.“Put away your doll.” (Add visual information if needed)“Now put away your airplane.”

Continue until your child has put away all of his toys. Be sure to praise your child when he responds correctly.

Be sure to let him have a turn telling you which toy to put away.



Purpose of the Game:To understand the concept of “big” and “small” as you and your child talk about objects and sizes

What You Need:Laundry that includes articles of clothing belonging to different members of the family

What to Do:1. Pile the clean laundry where your child can help you sort. Show him one of Daddy’s or Mommy’s shirts and say, “This shirt isBIG.” Change the pitch of your voice just a bit, making it deeper as you say the word, “big.” Then take out one of your child’s shirts.Hold it beside the larger shirt and say, “This shirt is SMALL.” Again change the pitch of your voice, making it slightly higher as youstress the word, “small.”

2. Repeat this procedure with socks and slacks. You might want to make a pile of big clothes and small clothes as you help yourchild understand this concept.

3. Then ask your child if the article of clothing is big or small, and help him put it into the appropriate pile. “This is your shirt. Is itbig? No, it’s small. Let’s put it in the small pile.”“Here are Daddy’s socks. They’re big, aren’t they? Where do they go?”

Variations:Cut out a big paper doll and a little paper doll, with corresponding sets of clothing: pants, hats, shirts, etc. Help your child decidewhich of each set goes with the right paper doll.

If Your Child Is Ready: Advanced Language and SkillsWhen your child knows the words BIG and SMALL and is ready to learn synonyms, introduce other descriptive words such as LITTLE,LARGE, SHORT, TALL, and so on.

Variations:1. While your child is helping you prepare for dinner, you can play this game with items used to set the table. Place the items whereyour child can easily reach them. Then ask him to get each item (just through listening) and place it on the table:

“Get the forks.”“Get the plates.”“Get the spoons.”“Get the glasses.”

2. If your child has a set of toy farm animals, you and he might play this game as you put them in a toy barn.

“Put in the horse.”“Put in the pig.”“Put in the cow.”

3. Give your child a turn. Let him tell you which toys to place in a box, or which toy animals go into the barn. On occasion, make amistake so he can correct you. He will feel very important, and realize that it’s OK to be wrong sometimes, too.

LANGUAGE: Learning About Sizes



Purpose of the Activity:To help your child listen to environmental soundsTo converse about the sounds you hear and the many things you see together

What to Do:1. Plan a simple walk around the block, or to a specific destination.

2. Look at things through your child’s eyes. He may be fascinated with many things you find ordinary! Stop and talk aboutwhatever catches his attention, or what you think he will be interested in.

SPEECH: Consonants: Nasals, Plosives and FricativesPurpose of the Game:To help your child discriminate and produce sounds that differ in the manner of their production

Nasals are sounds such as /m/ and /n/ which are created by vocalizing while the lips are closed.

Plosives are sound such as /p/ and /b/ which are created when the lips part and air is expelled.

Fricatives are sounds such as /s/ and /f/ which are created by interrupting a vowel sound.

What to Do:The nasal /m/:1. To help your child learn the nasal sound /m/, you might prepare his favorite snack together. As you bring out each ingredient,say “Mmmmm. This will taste so good. What do you think?” Encourage your child to respond by also saying, “Mmmmm.”

2. You can also help your child with this sound while playing with toy barnyard animals. Play with each animal, but give specialattention to the cow. Say, “The cow says, ‘Moooo.’” Then ask your child, “What does the cow say?”

The plosive /b/ and /p/:1. This is a great sound to learn by playing with a toy boat in some water. Children love to play in water and will happily approachany tub that is filled. Place the tub of water where you and your child can comfortably talk together. As you push the boat acrossthe water, say, “Puh, puh, puh.” Look at your child and encourage him to make the same sound as he pushes the boat.

2. An exercise for the sound /b/ is easily done by blowing out a candle. Holding the candle in front of you, say “Boo!” You will blowit out! Light the candle again and encourage your child to make the same sound.

The fricative /f/:1. Stories work perfectly with this speech sound. In “The Three Little Pigs,” the wolf says, “I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow yourhouse down.” Repeat “I’ll huff and I’ll puff ” as you act out the story. Help your child to act it out with you, as you ask, “What willthe wolf do? He will huff and puff!”

2. “Jack and the Beanstalk” is another good story for working with this speech sound. “Fee, fie, foe, fum” can be repeated withenthusiasm as you come to the part where Jack meets the giant. This is a complicated story for a preschooler, so you might wantto use just three pictures and explain that Jack climbed up the beanstalk and saw a giant. Then talk about what the giant said.

AN EVERYDAY ACTIVITY: Taking a Walk



“You hear the garbage truck. Oh, it’s big!”“There’s a school.”“The children are playing. They’re loud!”“There goes a red bird. Can you hear it?”“Look at the caterpillar.”“Do you see the worm?”

3. You can also talk about traffic safety:

“Let’s watch for cars.”“Is a car coming?”“It went by.”“Now we can go.”“The light is green.”

4. If you have a destination in mind, talk to your child about where you are going and what you will do there.

“Let’s walk to the store.”“We’ll buy some hot dogs.”“We need some raisins.”“You can carry the bread home.”

or

“Let’s go to the mailbox.”“Did the mailman come?”“Maybe we got some letters.”

5. When you return home, you can make an experience book or news story of your walk. Use pictures or real objects collectedduring your walk to illustrate the story by writing a brief sentence underneath each picture. You can use language such as:

“We went for a walk.”“Diane saw two dogs and a bird.”“Mommy stepped in a puddle.”“Today Debbie found some leaves. She put some pebbles in her pocket.”

Variations:Use any outdoor activity as a language learning activity for your child.

1. Go to the park or playground. You can talk about the play equipment:

“Here’s the swing.”“Whee! You went high.”“Mommy will push you.”“Climb up to the top of the slide.”“Oh, you came down fast.”



2. Take a trip to the library to select some books. Talk about the books and the pictures as your child looks at them. Also, youcan talk about checking out the books.

“Do you want that book?”“You can take three books. One, two, three. Three books!”“Take them to the desk.”“Give the books to the librarian.”“You can carry these two books.”“Yes, the books are heavy.”“Daddy got a book, too.”

3. Gather and draw pictures, and write an experience or news story about a trip to a special destination. This will give you achance to reinforce language you’ve already used.

If Your Child Is Ready: Advanced Language and Skills1. Encourage your child to name the things he sees on your walk.

2. Encourage your child to give you language for the experience or news story when you arrive home. Use his word or words in acomplete statement. For example, if your child says, “Truck,” you can respond, “Yes, you saw a big truck.” Then draw a truck andunder it print: David saw a big truck. Use as many pictures as you like.

A THINKING ACTIVITY: What’s Different?Purpose of the Activity:To help your child learn the concept of “different”

What You Need:An assortment of small objects, such as blocks, spoons, forks, raisins, or socks

What to Do:

1. Think in advance of activities you and your child enjoy together during the day. Then think about showing him items that are thesame or different as you naturally do these activities together.

2. When you help your child dress in the morning, show two socks that match and one that is a different color. Say to your child,“Here’s a blue sock. Here’s another blue sock. Here’s a red sock.”

3. Compare the two blue socks. Tell your child, “They’re the same. They’re blue socks.” Put them side by side.

4. Pick up the red sock. With a frown on your face, shake your head as you compare it to the two blue socks. Say, “This one is notthe same. It’s red.”

5. Later you might be fixing lunch while your child is in the kitchen with you. Take out two spoons and a fork. Again show yourchild that the spoons are the same and the fork is different. If he seems to understand the concept, separate the spoons and forkand ask him which are the same. Guide your child’s hand if he needs help moving the spoons together and keeping the forkseparate.

Variations:



Purpose of the Activity:To learn more about the environmentTo learn the language associated with insects and other animals

What You Need:A place to walk such as a park or vacant lot

What to Do:1. Tell your child that you are going to look for bugs. “Let’s go for a walk. We’re going to look for bugs.” Help him search forbugs in the dirt as you walk. You might say, “Look here’s a bug! It has many legs and it’s big!” “Look, that bug is flying!” “Whatcolor is the bug you see?”

2. Talk about how the bugs look. Do they have lots of legs? Are they big or small? Do they walk, fly or swim? What color are they?

3. There are many children’s books about bugs. Look at a book together and talk about what bugs eat and where they live. Thengo back to your bug hunt. When you see a lizard, you can say, “Look at the lizard. What does it eat? Yes, it eats bugs!” “Oh, youfound some ants. What do they eat? Do they eat candy?”

1. Use four objects instead of three, three being identical and the fourth totally different.

2. Use pictures or drawings on pieces of paper. Your child can circle the different one, or put an “X” on top of the one that “doesn’tbelong.”


1. Encourage your child to tell you which objects are “THE SAME” and which are “NOT THE SAME” or “DIFFERENT.”

2. Use objects which are not identical, but are similar, for “THE SAME.” For example, you could have a puppy, a dog and a cow; or acat, a kitten and a horse.

3. If your child has a good understanding of objects that are exactly alike, are similar, or are different, begin exposing him to howvarious sets of things can be both similar and different. For example, birds, airplanes, kites and bees all fly, but birds and bees arealive while kites and airplanes are not living. Or, dogs, cats and birds are all animals, but dogs and cats have fur and birds havefeathers.

A THINKING ACTIVITY: Bug Hunt

SUMMARY

Collect a few language samples.

Introduce new words such as verbs, prepositions and adjectives.

Begin to use questions such as “Where is…?” or “What’s this?”

Practice riddles.

List some slang expressions or idioms used in your family.

Links to More



Look here for additional ideas and information.

Stages of Speech and Language

Reading Stories

Go to the Next LessonYES! You have completed reading Lesson 9: Expanding Vocabulary. Now try some ideas with your child. Consider sharingquestions and successes using the yellow box on any page. Your changing concerns and your child’s increasing skills will besaved in “reports I’ve sent.” You can use these forms to show service providers or family and celebrate progress together. Thenproceed to Lesson 10: School Skills so this course becomes an individualized guide or go back to the Preschool Course content toselect another module.


Lesson 10: School SkillsEducational DecisionsYour beautiful baby is growing up. You have marveled at her every infant, toddler and preschool achievement. Now she has cometo a major milestone. It is time for “big” school. This experience can be exciting for your child but perhaps scary for you! Youmight be worried about where she can go, how you decide and what she will need. It is a whole new world for both of you. Just asshe may be unsure of what full‑time, formal school will bring, you may be unsure of what your role will become. Together you willlearn by asking, watching and doing!

If your child is receiving some school services, you have already made certain choices regarding educational placement. If yourchild is not yet in a program, you will be considering what actions to take. The first step in making a decision about an appropriateschool program is to gather all the information you can about your child’s needs. By understanding your child’s abilities, you willbe better able to choose among the educational options available. Second, learn all you can about the educational choicesavailable in your community and around the country. Even if you receive conflicting opinions from different professionals, continueto gather information. When you have information, you can consider the range of choices. You may find that nothing is perfect—things seldom are. But by looking at the strengths and weaknesses of each educational program in light of your child’s needs, aswell as the needs of the family, you can choose the best program for her.

Children continue to grow and change while they are in school. The initial decisions you make can be revised at any time. Newprograms may become available, while others will be phased out. Changes occur within the family as well—a new job, a move, anew baby—and these changes need to be considered, too. This decision‑making process will be an ongoing task for youthroughout the coming years.

As you plan for your child’s future, you will be in contact with many professional educators. Remember, you know your child betterthan someone else ever could. You hold her best interests more dearly than anyone. When talking to professionals, highlight yourchild’s strengths and achievements as well as her needs and your expectations for the future. There are many factors to considerwhen selecting an appropriate school, but none is more important than your child herself.

Educational Laws in The U.S.Begin by looking in your community or region to see what programs are available for youngsters with hearing loss. In the UnitedStates, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a law ensuring services to children throughout the country. Itmandates a “free, appropriate, public education” be made available to all school‑age children with disabilities. This law also statesthat children should be educated in the “least restrictive environment,” which means learning with peers as much as possible.

http://www.eduguide.org/library/viewarticle/987

http://www.jtc.org/parents/ideas-advice-blog-comments/stages-of-speech-and-language-development






The educational needs of children with hearing loss vary greatly. There is no one best type of school program for all children.Educational plans will depend on the child’s hearing level, language skills and the quality of professional support. Many childrenwith hearing loss may require a concentrated language‑building program during the early school years. By being close observersof your child’s needs, you can make sure that the program is the best one for her. All the information you gather now will help youmake appropriate decisions in the years to come. Work together with school officials to see that your child receives appropriateservices.

There is much to consider as you discuss school options with your child’s teachers, speech therapists, and audiologists. You childmay go to a neighborhood school or to a school in the district that has appropriate services. A neighboring district might contractwith your district to include your child in its program. You will want to think about her communication abilities, academic level,socialization skills and quality of services.

Placement may include:

A classroom with no support services.A classroom with support services that provide assistance to the student or support for the classroom teacher.Classes with children with hearing loss and some academic classes in the regular education program.Classes with children with hearing loss and participation in the regular education program for some non‑academic subjects, such as art or physicaleducation.Placement in a residential school as a boarding, day or partially mainstreamed student.

Other legal mandates include Section 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which offer many protections includingaspects of a child’s access to educational services. You will want to understand your rights as a parent to help you make informeddecisions. This information can be obtained from school systems, the Office of Special Education Programs, parent educationcenters and advocacy organizations. Parents and a school team can discuss how to best serve a child and what programs andservices will meet the child’s individual needs. Your role is essential.

Type of Program

School Arrangements

In addition to looking at schools, you will also want toconsider your child’s readiness for group learning situations. School staff may suggest certain skills to help your child do well inthis new setting. You could use the following list to describe her current social skills and indicate if she is beginning to learn theseskills or demonstrates them consistently.

My child takes turns.My child plays well with others.My child is able to make friends.My child’s behavior is age appropriate.My child expresses feelings appropriately.My child gives and follows directions.My child answers and asks questions. My child initiates and maintains conversations.My child can work and play alone and/or in a group.My child participates in activities with adults and children.My child offers information about actions and things.My child can respond, “I don’t know” or “I’m not sure.”My child follows classroom instructions/rules independently.



Support ServicesStudents with hearing loss may receive a variety of services depending on their current educational needs. If you live in the U.S.,your child may have an Individual Education Program (IEP). You would meet with the IEP team to determine the need for services. If you live in other parts of the world, you might make decisions about support services with an audiologist, speech therapist,teachers or medical personnel. You will discuss her current assessments, learning strengths and communication abilities. Servicescan change depending on a child’s progress and needs. Some students with hearing loss receive ongoing services for languageand speech. There are students who receive no related services. School districts may have specialists who provide individualizedinstruction, monitor student progress or offer consultation to staff. Examples of services are physical therapy to help with balanceissues and assistive technology to provide assistance with special equipment. Support might include but is not limited to:

Assistive Technology Audiology Captioning Communication TherapyCounselingCued Speech Transliteration Deaf/Hard‑of‑Hearing Services Educational Interpreting Language FacilitationLearning Disabilities ResourceNote Taking Occupational Therapy (OT) Oral Interpreting Physical Therapy (PT) Sign Language Interpreting Speech Language TherapyVision Services

Communication ConsiderationsAs you discuss your child’s educational needs, you will review her communication abilities and recommendations from her team. You may want to request that she be in a class with educational staff who have experience using a specific approach. There mightbe suggestions made for considering how to strengthen your preschooler’s language. You might decide to make some change,such as supplementing spoken language with Cued Speech or switching from Total Communication to Sign Language. Whenconsidering what will be best for an individual child, parents and staff may need to refer to descriptions of communicationapproaches to be sure they have similar understandings of these approaches. Included here are broad overviews but notcomprehensive definitions. Whatever choices are made for a child’s communication services at school, the family would want touse the same approach at home to provide a language‑rich, consistent and thorough communication environment.

The Auditory‑Verbal philosophy stresses learning spoken language through audition, listening and the use of amplified residualhearing. Parents and caregivers participate with the child in therapy sessions with a qualified Auditory‑Verbal Therapist (Cert.AVT). The child participates fully in a general education environment.

My child asks for clarification when she doesn’t understand and clarifies when she is not understood.My child understands some idioms/colloquial expressions used by peers.

Your Child’s Needs



Auditory‑Oral programs stress the importance of children learning spoken language through residual hearing. The child mightreceive speech therapy support in or outside of school. Classroom placement could be with other children who have a hearing lossor in a general education environment with or without support services.

Cued Speech is a system that uses hand shapes and positions along with mouth movements to convey speech sounds. These cuesvisually supplement audition and support the development of speechreading skills. Placement includes the support of atransliterator in either a class with other children with hearing loss or in the general education environment.Total Communication programs generally use one of the manually coded language systems along with spoken language. Theextent of signing and speech and whether they are done simultaneously, sequentially or separately can vary from program toprogram. Placement might be in a class for children with hearing loss taught by staff using Total Communication or in a special orgeneral education environment with a sign language interpreter.

Sign Language programs are conducted in the formal sign language of that country. Sign languages have their own sentencestructure and grammar and are usually visual, non‑spoken languages. School staff may sign or use an interpreter. For a child tohave same‑language peers there would need to be other students who use sign language. In a Bilingual‑Bicultural approach, signlanguage is taught as the child’s first language; and spoken language is used for teaching reading and writing. Classroomplacement might be with other children with hearing loss or in the general education environment.

Visiting SchoolsNo matter where you live, the most effective way to evaluate a school is to visit and observe it yourself. Arrange the visit inadvance and ask to see children in classes and meet with staff. If you wish to visit several schools, begin early in the school yearprior to when your child will enroll. This will allow time for parents to observe the school, educators to evaluate the child, familymembers to make decisions and schools to develop a plan.

Your general impression of the school and its program is important. Is it cheerful? Will you be happy to think of your childspending her days there? Is it a place where she will learn? Are the staff and faculty members friendly and courteous? Do theyseem genuinely interested in children? Do they appear to view parents as an important part of the educational team? Does theprogram have high standards for children with special learning needs?

During your visit, see the possible program for your child and higher levels too. Discuss the textbooks and grade levels of childrenof different ages. What is the general philosophy and goal of the program? What curriculum do they use? Does each step lead inan orderly way to the next step in learning? You can ask about average achievements of students at different grade levels onstandardized tests. You might want to inquire about the training and experience of classroom teachers. Is there consultation andsupport available to the staff to strengthen services to students with hearing loss?

In some countries, there are multiple languages spoken but perhaps only one or two are used for education. As you visit schools,inquire about what language is used for classroom instruction. If the school that is best for your child uses a language differentthan your family’s language, ask how to begin helping your child learn the school’s language. Then a family can begin as early aspossible to prepare their child. Speaking two languages fluently may be difficult for some children with hearing loss because strongauditory skills are part of that learning process. You will want to work closely with educators and specialists in hearing loss to finda setting that provides a language‑rich environment where your child will flourish.

Preparing Your Child for SchoolOnce you have decided on a school, it is time to think about discussing this with your child. Plan a visit together to the actualschool or take a walk to a nearby school. Let your child observe children entering, leaving and playing on school grounds. Showyour child pictures of schools or classrooms. Encourage siblings and neighbors to share what they do in school. Talk about thestudents, the teachers, and the school building. This type of casual exposure to school settings can help your child know what she



Much of your child’s success in school will depend on you. Begin by discussing with her teacher how you can introduce languageand concepts at home. Ask for the annual curriculum or monthly themes or weekly topics. Just as you taught your child somepreschool songs, you may “pre‑teach” some classroom subjects. Find ways to make the school lesson important and interesting toyour child so she wants to explore new skills and ideas. Upon arrival in class, she will be comfortable with the information andready to learn.

Many families stay in contact with the teacher by weekly emails or phone calls. The teacher might only need to tell you that yourchild is doing well and then give you information about what will be taught the next week. Possibly your little one needs someextra help in learning a concept or an activity. Or you might have a question that needs to be answered. Maintaining contact withschool staff increases the opportunities for your child to succeed.

If your child is in a classroom of hearing children, you may be concerned about how they will react. This is especially true if therehas not been another child with a hearing loss enrolled in that classroom, or perhaps in the entire school. A little extra preparationmay ease this experience for your child. Ask for time to show any devices to the class and explain how they help your child hear. The other children will exhibit a natural curiosity about hearing aids, FM or cochlear implants. With your encouragement they willsee amplification as something that helps their new friend play and learn with them.

No one can tell you what school is “best” for your child. There is no single school that is right for all children. Also, the school thatbest meets your child’s needs this year may not be the best next year or the year after. Only you can make this importantdecision. After visiting programs you can compare them and make a decision that is in your child’s best interest.

Once you have made this decision, be positive. Have confidence in the school and its staff. Explore how to be supportive inmultiple ways. If possible, ask if you may volunteer to help in the classroom. Keep in touch with the school administrators,support staff and especially with your child’s teacher.

Being positive and supporting the school does not imply that you should stop assessing progress. Assessment is an ongoingprocess. Schools usually schedule periodic conferences between teacher and parent to review short‑term goals and the child’sprogress. If conferences are not regularly scheduled, you can request them whenever necessary. Ask questions! Be involved!

You and your child are now ready to start the school years! Your child is a formal student and you are a formal member of theeducational team. You both will become more independent. You will form new connections. You both will learn from teachers,students, others parents, and school staff. You will develop new skills and discover new interests. You will both grow in all theways you hoped and change in ways you never imagined. You both will make new friends. You have ended the preschool Course

can expect. Make an Experience Book to explain the new vocabulary and activities she will encounter in her first days and weeks. Ask educational staff or neighborhood families about typical activities for your child to become familiar with before school starts. Read books about starting school and making friends. Practice some games and songs but most importantly, have fun with yourchild.

Shortly before she starts, visit the actual class your child will attend. Let her meet the teachers and see the classrooms. If she is toboard at school, tour the dormitory too and meet the residential staff. Take pictures, obtain brochures and talk often about thisimportant next step in her life. Remember to emphasize how much you will be helping her with these new experiences!

Your Child Still Needs Your Support

It’s Your Decision



with John Tracy Clinic (JTC) but our friendship will be life‑long. JTC wishes you well!

Purpose of the Game:To give your child the opportunity to use her thinking skills, listening skills and expressive language to identify a problem and thenfind a solutionTo give your child practice in developing self‑help skills in the area of food preparation

What You Need:

VIDEO CLIP & IDEAS FOR EXTRA LEARNINGView brief video clip celebrating the progress of JTC preschooler enjoying learning together with a parent.

LISTENING: Recalling Two Critical Elements in a MessagePurpose of the Game:Listening to and remembering two itemsPracticing new and familiar speech sounds

What You Need:An old suitcaseA variety of clothing and personal items (words that your child knows)

What to Do:1. Sit next to your child so that she can’t see your mouth. Explain that you are goingto pretend to take a trip. If you really are planning to go somewhere, even better!

2. Spread the items on the floor within easy reach of your child. Open the suitcase,and ask clearly, “Can you find the hat and the toothbrush?”

3. Give your child a chance to respond. If she picks up only one (the toothbrush),encourage her to listen again for two things. Be sure to praise her when she getsthem correct and let her put them in the suitcase.

4. Then, try two more items: “Where are the shoes and the underpants?”

5. After you’ve packed the suitcase, unpack it. Play the game again and let your childtell you what items to pack.

Variations:1. At first, make the two words sound very different from one another, such as aone‑syllable word and a two‑syllable word. If this is very easy for your child, giveher two words that sound more alike, such as toothbrush and toothpaste or soapand sock.

2. You can do the same listening activity while putting toys away (ball and doll) orputting items away in the garage (broom and rake).

3. When your child has progressed to the point where this can be accomplishedeasily, you can make it more challenging by trying to recall three items.

LANGUAGE: What’s Missing?



Peanut butterJellyBreadA “forgotten” knifeA picture of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich

OR

CerealSugarA spoonA bowlSome “forgotten” milkA picture of a bowl of cereal

What to Do:1. Choose a simple meal preparation activity with which your child is familiar and with which she has helped you many times. Making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or preparing a bowl of cereal are just examples. Other ideas are making jello, pudding,or anything else your child has helped you make on previous occasions.

2. Gather the peanut butter, jelly and bread on the kitchen table or counter, well within your child’s reach.

3. Show your child a picture of a completed peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

4. Tell your child, “Let’s make a sandwich.”

5. Encourage her to begin the activity. If she looks puzzled, say, “Uh‑oh. Something’s missing. What do we need?”

6. If she doesn’t know what to do, lead her to the silverware drawer and help her find a knife. Finish the activity and let your childenjoy the sandwich!

Variations:1. Repeat this activity several times throughout the next days, omitting a different item each time. Or, use another mealpreparation activity.

2. Draw simple pictures of faces with one facial feature missing. Encourage your child to name or show you the missing feature.

3. Draw simple pictures of common household items with missing parts. For example, a table without a leg, a doll without an arm,etc. Even if your child cannot tell you what’s missing, she can point out which part is missing. You can then introduce newlanguage to your child.

If Your Child Is Ready: Advanced Language and Skills1. As your child’s observation and thinking skills continue to develop, you can use pictures showing small details that are missing,like a cat’s whiskers.

2. Present situations that require your child to indicate, “WHAT’S WRONG?” Examples are putting a hat on backwards, a jacket onupside down, or the milk in the cupboard. If your child does not notice “WHAT’S WRONG,” you can laugh as you indicate, “NO, THEHAT GOES THIS WAY,” or “THE MILK BELONGS HERE.”



3. You may find or draw pictures that have something “wrong” in the picture. These games can be fun while encouraging yourchild to think and use her language skills.

Purpose of the Activity:To provide your child with typical language involved in a trip to the grocery store

What You Need:A list and pictures of the grocery items you will buy

What to Do:1. Choose an opportunity when you and your child have time to go to the grocery store and enjoy the trip.

2. Decide before leaving home what you will purchase. Make a list, and gather pictures of all the items on the list. (You might uselabels from cans, hand‑drawn pictures, or pictures cut from magazines). Show the pictures to your child.

3. Using the pictures, discuss the items with your child. You might tell her:

“We are going to the store.”

SPEECH: Completing Linguistic Messages with Specific Speech GoalsPurpose of the Activity:To help your child practice using her spoken language and best possible speech

What You Need:A few of your child’s favorite stories or nursery rhymes

What to Do:1. Pick a story or song that your child enjoys and knows well. Possibly she likes, “The Wheels on the Bus” and you would like towork on the /ou/ sound in “round and round” or the /sh/ in “swish, swish, swish.”

2. If you have a toy bus or a book with a picture of a bus, sing the song together while playing with the toy or looking at thepictures. When you are sure that your child knows all the words, begin the song and let her finish it. You will sing, “The wheels onthe bus go……” Your child fills in the missing words or phrase.

If your child has difficulty with a specific sound, sing more slowly. Do not repeat the sound by itself, but rather, keep using it in thesong. Sing it often and try to find other songs or stories with this sound. Your repetition and your child’s listening to sentences orsongs are the keys to her informally learning speech sounds. The most important thing to remember is to make it fun and to keepyour intonation pattern natural!

Variations:1. Have your child sing a line of a song and leave out the last word or phrase. Then YOU fill it in.

2. Sing a line of the song and see if your child can point to the correct part of the bus. Then let your child sing and YOU point tothe correct part of the bus.

AN EVERYDAY ACTIVITY: A Trip to the Grocery Store



“We need some food.”“We’ll buy some apples.”“Oh, we need some cereal.”

4. Discuss each picture with your child. Make sure that at least one of the items you plan to buy is among your child’s favoritefoods. This will make her most interested in the trip!

5. When you arrive at the store, let your child sit in the shopping cart. Let her hold the pictures of the items you are going to buy. Ifyou are familiar with the layout of the store, you might arrange the pictures in order of the way you will travel through the store.Your child can help you look for the items as you travel down the aisles.

6. As you remove each item from the shelf, name it for your child, and show her the corresponding picture on your list. Talk aboutthe color and number as you select your purchases, as well:

“We need two boxes of sugar.”“The apples are red.”“Now, what do we need?”“Here’s the milk.”“Let’s get some eggs.”“Mmm, here are the cookies.”

7. Encourage your child to help you find the various items. You may be surprised at how easily she can recognize some of theitems you use regularly!

8. Once home, let your child help you carry the items into the house.

“Ronnie, can you carry the oranges?”“Mommy will take the bag.”“Let’s bring them into the house.”

9. Your child can also help you unpack the groceries and put them away. This gives you another opportunity to talk about the itemsyou have bought. Ask your child where items should go.

10. Later, you may want to look at the pictures again with your child. You can talk about all the items you bought and, perhaps,how you’ll use them.

Variations:1. Take your child on an errand other than to the grocery store. You may want to visit a flower shop to buy flowers to plant in thegarden, or go shopping for a birthday gift for another family member or a friend.

2. Make your trip to the grocery store to buy things for a special occasion such as a picnic, barbecue, or birthday party.

3. Make a book using pictures of common grocery items.

4. Give your child an opportunity to play “store.” Clean cans (be certain they have no sharp edges) and empty containers can beused to stock the “play store.” Invite a sibling or friend to enjoy the make‑believe game. You can all take turns being “clerk” and“customer.”



5. Make an experience storybook about your trip to the store. Pictures and language might include:

“Mommy and Grace went to the store.”“Grace sat in the cart.”“We bought cheese, orange juice and crackers.”

If Your Child Is Ready: Advanced Language and Skills1. As your child becomes familiar with the grocery routine, you can add to the number of items.

2. You can pretend to “forget” an item on the list. Look puzzled, and ask your child, “What do we need?” Let her match the pictureswith the items that you already have in the cart. Encourage her to show you or tell you what you need.

3. Use questions when preparing your shopping list or while at the store:“What do we need?”

“Where are the oranges?”“How many potatoes do we need?”“What kind of cereal do you want?”

4. Encourage your child to help you make the list of items you need to buy.

A THINKING ACTIVITY: Animal Guessing GamePurpose of the Activity:As a cognitive activity, this game will help your child choose from a closed set of animals. This can also be an auditory activity ifyou provide the sound and your child chooses the animal by using his audition. Also, your child can be the “teacher” and providethe expressive language to help you choose the animal.

What You Need:Pictures of animals or toy animals such as a duck, cow, pig, cat, dog or rooster

What to Do:

If your child is two or three years old:Use two of the animals and plan about two or three minutes for this activity. Talk about the animal. “Look, here is a dog. The dogsays, ‘Woof, woof, woof.’” Then take the cow and say, “Here is the cow. The cow says, ‘Mooooo.’”

After your child has played with the two toys briefly, ask her, “Which animal says, ‘Woof ’? Good for you. The dog says, ‘Woof.’ Youare right!” If she is still paying attention, ask which animal says, “Mooooo.”

If your child is over three years old:Use three or four animals and plan to enjoy this activity for five to ten minutes. You might say to your child, “Here’s the duck. It’syellow and has webbed feet. See the feet? They are webbed feet. Your yellow duck has webbed feet.” If your child picks up a toydog, say, “Oh you have the dog. He’s brown and white. Look, your dog has four legs.”

The next day bring out the toy animals again. Talk about each animal, describing its color and how it looks.

When you feel that your child has the language to describe each animal, you are ready to play a guessing game. Ask your child,“Which animal is yellow and has webbed feet?” If she isn’t sure, you can help by adding, “Which animal is yellow, has webbed feet



Purpose of the Game:To help your child develop skills in language as she enjoys playing ball

What You Need:A ball (a soft sponge ball for indoors)

What to Do:1. At first, you may want to play a simple game of ball with you and your child as the only participants.

2. Play inside at first, so it will be easier for you to keep your child’s attention.

3. Sit on the floor with your child, about five feet away from each other.

4. Tell your child: “I’m going to roll the ball.” Then, roll it to her.

5. Say, “Good! You caught the ball,” or “Uh‑oh! You missed it.”

6. When she’s ready say, “Roll the ball to me. I’ll catch the ball.”

7. Continue rolling the ball back and forth, varying your language as you play:

“Mommy caught the ball.”“Roll the ball.”“Roll it to me.”“Here comes the ball.”“It’s going fast!”

8. If you are playing outdoors or in a large room, and your child is capable, you can do other actions with the ball:

“I’ll throw the ball.”“Kick the ball.”“Let’s bounce the ball.”“Uh‑oh, the ball is rolling away.”“You bounced the ball against the house.”

Variations:1. Including other family members will give you an excellent opportunity to practice everyone’s names:

“Roll the ball to Daddy”“Grandma caught the ball.”

and says, ‘quack, quack, quack’?” “Now, which animal is brown and white and has four legs? Yes, it’s the dog!”

If Your Child Is Ready: Advanced Language and SkillsPlay the guessing game described above but allow your preschooler to be the leader of the game and give you the clues.

PLAYTIME: Playing Ball



Choosing an educational setting for your child means time and preparation: gather information, keep a notebook, visit programs, ask questions.

Consider the primary mode of communication you want for your child.

Be positive about the choice you make!

Prepare your child for her school experience.

Teach songs, stories and new concepts at home so she will be comfortable with the information when it is presented in school.

Remember that you can change schools or communication methods at any time.

Talk to her teachers every week about her progress.

Keep your notebook up‑to‑date as your child goes through her school years.

“Stevie kicked the ball hard.”

2. Your child might enjoy playing a game of bowling with plastic balls and pins. Bowling sets suitable for young children can bepurchased, or you can easily make your own using empty plastic containers and any ball, preferably a large one. Bowling provideslots of opportunity for language:

“Roll the ball.”“Whee! You knocked them down.”“You knocked three down.”“Get those two!”

3. As your child grows older and her skills mature, she can play different kinds of ball games: baseball with a large ball and bat,golf with a large club and balls, or football.

If Your Child Is Ready: Advanced Language and Skills1. Encourage your child to name the person to whom she will roll or throw the ball.

2. As you’re playing, encourage your child to tell you what she is doing, or what someone else has done with the ball.

SUMMARY


Starting School

Preparing for Preschool

Preschool Course CompletedYES! You have completed reading Lesson 10: School Skills. Now try some ideas with your child. Consider sharing questions andsuccesses using the yellow box on any page. Your changing concerns and your child’s increasing skills will be saved in “reportsI’ve sent.” You can use these forms to show service providers or family and celebrate progress together. You can go back andreview the other lessons in the Preschool Course by going to the Preschool Course content to select another Lesson.


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